Department for Transport

South West Railway Line

Mrs Flick Drummond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the causes of signal and power failures on the South West main line between Woking and Eastleigh on 6 December 2016.

Paul Maynard: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 14 December 2016.The correct answer should have been:

The Department does not generally make an assessment of the causes of individual operational incidents. Network Rail, as the infrastructure provider, is best placed to do this. I am aware, however, that on this occasion the problems were caused by two power surges from the National Grid a failure of the power supply to the signalling centre in Basingstoke that damaged the signalling equipment which had to be repaired and reset.

Paul Maynard: The Department does not generally make an assessment of the causes of individual operational incidents. Network Rail, as the infrastructure provider, is best placed to do this. I am aware, however, that on this occasion the problems were caused by two power surges from the National Grid a failure of the power supply to the signalling centre in Basingstoke that damaged the signalling equipment which had to be repaired and reset.

Motor Vehicles: Safety

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to announce his final decision on implementing changes to the exemption from compulsory annual roadworthiness testing for vehicles of historic interest; and if he will make a statement.

Mr John Hayes: The consultation on proposed changes to roadworthiness testing for vehicles of historical interest closed on 2 November. Over 2,000 responses were received. These are receiving consideration. We will be finalising the changes, including publishing our response, in the Spring of 2017.

Electrification

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much from the public purse is allocated to rail electrification in each NUTS 1 region of the country in each of the next five years; and how many miles of track are to be electrified in each such region in each such year.

Paul Maynard: We are currently delivering the largest railway modernisation programme for many years, including plans to electrify over 850 miles of track. We have continued ambition for the rail network and expect to continue our significant investment in the funding period. The exact level of this investment will be set out in the Statement of Funds Available.

Highway Code

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to update the Highways Code; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Jones: We frequently update The Highway Code to reflect changes in legislation. We are currently considering consultation responses on the safe use of automated vehicle technologies and advanced driver assistance systems and intend to include appropriate advice in the Code. We have no further plans to carry out a revision of the Code. When we carry out the next revision of the Code we will as usual undertake a consultation on proposed changes to the code.

High Speed 2 Railway Line: Eddisbury

Antoinette Sandbach: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Health and Safety Inspectorate has been contacted in relation to the rate refinement proposals in Eddisbury constituency.

Andrew Jones: Safety is, and will continue to be, at the core of all HS2 activities. During the design of the HS2 route regulatory and advisory bodies with safety responsibilities are, and will continue to be, involved and consulted as is appropriate.

High Speed 2 Railway Line: Eddisbury

Antoinette Sandbach: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many properties in Eddisbury constituency are in a (a) safeguarded area, (b) rural support zone and (c) homeowner payment zone.

Andrew Jones: The Eddisbury constituency property count reply is: Safeguarding Zone: 10Rural Support Zone: 7Homeowner Payment Zone: 32

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Antoinette Sandbach: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the research survey of the UK rail customers undertaken by Future Thinking on behalf of HS2 Ltd, how many passengers have been surveyed and over what period of time; on which rail routes that survey has been carried out; what the cost to the public purse was of that survey; and whether the results of that survey will be made publicly available.

Andrew Jones: The research being conducted by Future Thinking on behalf of HS2 Ltd will include a survey targeting 16,000 responses from passengers travelling on trains. In addition to the on-train surveys, an online survey will also be issued that will target an additional 1,000 responses. The research covers passengers travelling in both directions between London and Birmingham, Manchester, Preston, Glasgow, and Crewe. HS2 Ltd expect to publish the findings of this research in due course. The cost of the research was £119,216. The contract with Future Thinking ends on 31 January 2017.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Antoinette Sandbach: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 4 May 2016 to Question 35401, if he will place a copy of the modelling report from Heriot-Watt University of the geodynamic effects of high speed railway operation referred to in that Answer in the Library.

Andrew Jones: I have today arranged for the Heriot-Watt University report for HS2 to be deposited in the libraries of the House.

Railways

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to ensure that future franchises which incorporate reforms to the structure of the railways integrating Network Rail will incentivise new freight terminals and services.

Paul Maynard: Rail Freight is a crucial part of our rail network. We published a Rail Freight Strategy in September 2016 which reaffirms our commitment to the rail freight industry and explains how we will work to advance its interests. The Strategy commits to ensuring that the Government, in developing its strategy for new franchise competitions, will consider how rail freight can be more systemically considered in this process. We want to ensure any proposals for rail reform work for everyone on the network, and we will be engaging with stakeholders as any new proposals develop. Alongside this, progress has already been made with Network Rail creating a virtual freight and national passenger operator route to ensure the interests of freight operators are represented.

Maritime and Coastguard Agency

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the costs were to the public purse of the KPMG report into commercial opportunities for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency; and if he will make a statement.

Mr John Hayes: The cost for the provision of KPMG consultancy services to provide an analysis of commercial opportunities within the MCA, was £207,744 (inclusive of VAT).

Maritime and Coastguard Agency

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will place an unredacted copy of the KPMG report into commercial opportunities for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency commissioned by his Department in the Library.

Mr John Hayes: The KMPG report was commissioned in response to recommendations from the Maritime Growth Study to explore commercial opportunities in the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. The report is informing the department’s policy development in relation to these opportunities. The sections of the report currently withheld are primarily concerned with potential pricing and commercial strategies, customer acquisition and market analysis. As these are all areas where policy development is at an early stage it would not be appropriate to disclose this information at this time. We will continue to keep Parliament informed as the policy is developed.

Railways: Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty

Mr Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Network Rail on the implications of section 85 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 for the placement of overhead line equipment in areas of outstanding natural beauty.

Paul Maynard: Consultations with the relevant local communities are planned for January and February 2017, where residents will view the output of the Landscape and Visual Appraisals undertaken alongside potential design and mitigation measures that could be employed. It would not be appropriate for the Department to pre-empt the outcome of that consultation process.

Network Rail

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Great Western Rail and South Western franchises will be included in his Department's proposals for shared responsibility with Network Rail.

Paul Maynard: The Secretary of State outlined his vision for the future alignment of track and train in the Written Ministerial Statement issued on 6 December. The current Great Western Direct Award franchise is assumed to expire March 2020. The Department is exploring a range of delivery options for the Great Western Franchise beyond March 2020 with the aim of closer integration between track and train. The Department is running a competition to award the next South Western franchise, which is expected to start in August 2017. In the Invitation to Tender the Department required the next franchisee to collaborate with Network Rail to improve performance, project delivery and service to passengers. Bidders were required to demonstrate how they had engaged with Network Rail in the development of aligned objectives for the Franchise going forward, including areas for joint working.

B5345

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many applications have been made for the installation of permanent traffic lights on the B5345 (Whitehaven) in the last five years.

Andrew Jones: Installation of traffic lights is the responsibility of the local traffic authority. They do not have to obtain approval to do so from the Department. Cumbria County Council sought advice from the Department in January 2016 about placing traffic signals on the B5345 at Meadow View, but this did not constitute an application for approval. Legislation restricts the use of traffic lights to places where there is conflict, either between vehicles or vehicles and pedestrians. This means junctions, places where the headroom or width of the road is permanently restricted, or crossing places. The Department’s view was that this site did not fall within any of these circumstances and Cumbria County Council was advised accordingly.

Public Transport: Older People

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance his Department issues on the provision of alternative transport services for elderly people when bus services are removed.

Andrew Jones: The Department has not issued guidance specifically on the provision of alternative transport services for the elderly when bus services are removed. However, the Department has published draft guidance for local authorities who are considering how to best improve their local bus services, and guidance about the role that can be played by the Community Transport sector and the application of Total Transport principles. This draft guidance was published in October to accompany the Bus Services Bill that is currently before Parliament. A final version of the guidance will be published in due course.

Bus Services: Contracts

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has power to intervene when bus companies terminate contracts without consultation.

Andrew Jones: Bus services in England outside London are provided commercially by bus operators with local authorities able to subsidise additional services where these are not being provided on a commercial basis. The Secretary of State has no power to intervene when bus services cease to be provided by bus operators or supported by local authorities. Bus operators are however required to provide a Traffic Commissioner with 56 days’ notice of their intention to cancel a local bus service, and we would encourage operators and local authorities to consult with local communities before making changes to local bus services.

Public Transport: Older People

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the effect on elderly people of the 400 metre accessibility standard used by Transport for West Midlands.

Paul Maynard: Whenever infrastructure at railway at railway station is installed, replaced or renewed it must meet the EU and UK accessibility standards published in “Design Standards for Accessible Railway Stations”, which state that accessible routes to be “as short as possible”. These standards are enforced by the Office of Rail and Roads.

Bus Services

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance his Department has issued on accessibility standards for bus provision.

Andrew Jones: I am committed to building transport networks that work for everyone, including ensuring that disabled people have the same access to transport services as other members of society. Guidance was issued in 2005 to support the implementation of the Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations 2000 (PSVAR). We are currently developing best practice guidance in delivering disability awareness training. This has be informed by engagement with disabled people and the bus industry, and aims to ensure that bus drivers have the knowledge and skills to provide all passengers with the appropriate assistance.

Driving under Influence

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to ensure that drivers living south of the Scottish Border are aware of the different drink driving limit in Scotland.

Andrew Jones: A reduced drink driving limit came into effect in Scotland in December 2014, at which point rule 95 of the Highway Code was amended to reflect the change. It is essential that all road users in England, Scotland and Wales are aware of the Code. At the time of its introduction, the Scottish Government advertised the lower limit on both sides of the border.

Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence: Pay

Jake Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the percentage gap in earnings is between the pay of full-time staff in the highest pay grade in his Department and average full-time pay in that Department.

Mark Lancaster: The Office for National Statistics publish the salary ratio of highest to median earners for each Civil Service organization. These ratios are published annually as part of Civil Service Statistics and can be found on the Office for National Statistics website: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/bulletins/civilservicestatistics/2016

Ministry of Defence: Pay

Jake Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the percentage gap in earnings is between the highest-paid and lowest-paid full-time employee in his Department.

Mark Lancaster: Government departments do not publish details of the salary of their highest to lowest paid employees. The Office for National Statistics do, however, publish the salary ratio of highest to median earners for each Civil Service organization. These ratios are published annually as part of Civil Service Statistics and can be found on the Office for National Statistics website: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/bulletins/civilservicestatistics/2016

Ministry of Defence: Staff

Helen Whately: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what measures his Department has in place to support those of its staff who have mental health problems.

Mark Lancaster: Maintaining good levels of mental health and wellbeing is achieved using a 'through life approach' and the application of a wide range of measures based around a model of prevention, early detection and treatment. No system can guarantee to detect every individual at risk of mental health problems. Nevertheless, measures are in place to increase awareness at all levels.Mental health support to members of the Armed Forces includes pre and post-operational stress management training, a wide range of psychiatric and psychological treatments, and initiatives such as Trauma Risk Management. We currently have 16 military Departments of Community Mental Health (DCMHs), which are located to be convenient for major centres of military population, and which support the provision of healthcare that is available through Service primary care facilities. In-patient care is provided in dedicated psychiatric units through a central contract the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has with a partnership of eight NHS Trusts, led by South Staffordshire and Shropshire NHS Foundation Trust.The Armed Forces Covenant makes it clear that all members of the Armed Forces community deserve to receive the very best support and care that we can offer and it is vital to ensure that they are not disadvantaged when accessing healthcare, including treatment for mental health needs.Civil Service Employee Policy provides a central health and well-being service to support departments in their well-being work. In 2015, the People Board agreed a strategic approach to health and well-being for the Civil Service. This identified mental health as a key priority. This strategic approach was developed into a Strategic Action Plan, which has now been successfully implemented.The MOD has its own bespoke Employee Wellbeing Service that offers support to Civilian employees who experience mental health problems. Wellbeing Consultants are fully trained to provide support and information on a wide range of issues. We also offer a range of tools and information for employees who are experiencing mental health problems.

RFA Tiderace

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 7 December 2016 to Question 56629, what the cost to the public purse was of transporting both the UK Chief of Defence Materiel and the Lady Sponsor for the RFA Tiderace to Korea for the naming ceremony for RFA Tiderace on 1 December 2016.

Harriett Baldwin: The total cost to the Ministry of Defence of the Lady Sponsor, Mrs Lister and Vice-Admiral Simon Lister, travelling to the naming ceremony of RFA was £4,820.The Chief of Defence Materiel, now designated the Chief Executive Officer of Defence Equipment and Support, did not attend the ceremony.

Veterans: Northern Ireland

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions his Department has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on steps to ensure 24 hour-a-day help from veterans' charities and helplines for ex-service personnel.

Mark Lancaster: The Ministry of Defence has had no discussions with the Northern Ireland Executive on the provisions of a 24 hour-a-day contact and referral service from veterans' charities and helplines for ex-Service personnel. However, the Covenant Fund has awarded a £2 million grant to a consortium of organisations led by The Royal British Legion and including Combat Stress, SSAFA and Poppyscotland who are working towards setting up a one-stop service to better support the UK's Armed Forces veterans community. It will give veterans, regardless of age or location, a simple point of contact to turn to for advice and help in accessing an array of public, private and charitable services and will be delivered across Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland and England.

AWE: Occupational Pensions

Kirsten  Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Oral Answer by the Leader of the House on 7 December 2016, Q9, Official Report, column 211-2, on how many occasions (a) he and (b) his Ministerial colleagues met with trade unions representatives to discuss the proposed changes to the Atomic Weapons Establishment pension scheme.

Harriett Baldwin: I have remained fully informed of developments regarding the proposed changes to the Atomic Weapons Establishment pension scheme. My predecessor, Phillip Dunne, met with Trades Union representatives, and subsequently instructed officials to have further meetings to clarify the Government's position on a number of issues. There being no material change in those positions, further clarifications have been provided through correspondence.

HMS Tamar

Scott Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department expects to be the duties of HMS Tamar, announced for construction on 8 December 2016.

Harriett Baldwin: The cutting-edge technology of the Royal Navy's versatile new River Class Offshore Patrol Vessels will enable these warships to carry out a wide range of tasks. They will support our destroyers and frigates in delivering their tasks, will conduct disaster relief missions, and enhance our contribution to maritime security and fishery protection, increasing the Royal Navy's ability to defend UK interests at home and abroad.

Scottish Medicines Consortium

Kirsten  Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he (a) has held and (b) plans to hold discussions with the Scottish Medicines Consortium as part of an engagement process on changes to the drugs appraisal process.

Mark Lancaster: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has not held or plans to hold discussions with the Scottish Medicines Consortium about changes to the drugs appraisal process.The MOD is aware of Dr Brian Montgomery's review of access to new medicines, requested by the Scottish Government. The MOD has not been invited to contribute to this review.

Armed Forces: Mental Illness

Kirsten  Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what comparative assessment he has made of the proportion of personnel presenting for care in connection with mental health issues among (a) the general military population, (b) personnel returned from deployment and (c) personnel returned from deployment who had been prescribed mefloquine.

Mark Lancaster: The information is not held in the format requested, therefore it has not been possible to provide a like for like comparison for the three requested categories of personnel.

Ministry of Defence: Dubai

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the establishment is to be of the new British Defence Staff in Dubai; and when that staff will be stood up.

Mike Penning: Establishment of a British Defence Staff (Gulf) was a 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review commitment. Based at the British Consulate in Dubai, the BDS (Gulf) has already begun its work following the deployment at the end of November of an RAF Wing Commander. She will be joined in spring 2017 by two other officers, an Army Colonel and a Major. The BDS will help co-ordinate British Defence activity in the Gulf, building on the work done by the six Defence Sections in our Gulf Cooperation Countries nation embassies, our 200-plus Loan Service personnel, our short-term training teams, and our liaison and exchange officers across the region. The BDS (Gulf) will be headed by the Defence Senior Adviser Middle East, Lt Gen Tom Beckett, who will remain primarily London-based.

Type 31 Frigates: Exports

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment the Government has undertaken of potential export sales for the Type 31 frigate; and if he will publish the evidential basis which supports such an assessment.

Harriett Baldwin: In line with the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 commitment to exports and prosperity, the potential for future exports of the Type 31 General Purpose Frigate is being considered. Consequently, analysis of the global frigate market will continue drawing on Government, industry and independent expertise as the project matures.

Iron and Steel: Procurement

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when his Department plans to report on the proportion of UK steel being procured through contracts as set out in government policy.

Harriett Baldwin: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has recently published updated policy guidance on steel procurement in major Government projects. This aims to ensure that the public sector, including defence, takes full account of the value provided by UK steel producers when conducting procurement activities. BEIS is working closely with Departments to monitor its impact and ensure delivery. There are no plans to share this data publicly, due to its provisional nature.The Government has also now published its future pipeline for steel requirements, which will enable UK steel manufacturers to better plan and bid for Government contracts. The pipeline, together with the updated procurement policy, is published on gov.uk at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-policy-note-1116-procuring-steel-in-major-projects-revised-guidance.

Burma: Military Aid

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what funds the Government has allocated to training programmes for the Burmese army in each of the last five years.

Mike Penning: The Ministry of Defence does not provide combat training to the Burmese military. We do provide educational training to the Burmese military in the form of programmes delivered by the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom on the role of the military in a democracy, leadership and English language training. Our programme of engagement with the Burmese military remains under continual review. The Government did not allocate any funds to training programmes for the Burmese army in financial year (FY) 2012-13. Funds were allocated for training programmes in FYs 2013-14; 2014-15; 2015-16 and 2015-17. These funds were allocated as follows:FY 2012-13: No funds allocatedFY 2013-14: £86, 560FY 2014-15: £131,235FY 2015-16: £158,563FY 2016-17: £250,000

Reserve Forces: Training

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to include Reserve troops in overseas training missions.

Mike Penning: Reservists are currently members of short term training teams in a number of different locations around the world. On 13 October 2016, I announced that we had made four new call-out orders under section 56(1B) of the Reserve Forces Act 1996 (ref HCWS190). One of these orders was to continue to allow reservists to be called into permanent service to support Defence Engagement activities (for example the provision of short term training teams and military capacity building overseas). 171 Reservists were called into permanent service for Defence Engagement activity between September 2015 and September 2016. Reservists provide invaluable support to the Train, Advise and Assist mission in Afghanistan.The force structure on Overseas Training Missions is tailored to the requirement and therefore varies depending on the situation. Reservists are always considered when planning for future missions and will be utilised if appropriate.

Armed Forces

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what regular and Territorial Army units are stationed at (a) Bulford, (b) Tidworth, (c) Aldershot, (d) Catterick and (e) Colchester.

Mark Lancaster: Army Units stationed at Bulford, Tidworth, Aldershot, Catterick and Colchester as at 15 December 2016 are shown in the attached table:



57740 - Army Units at Various MOD Sites
(Word Document, 17.82 KB)

HMS Tamar

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the Government will decide in which port HMS Tamar will be based.

Harriett Baldwin: HMS TAMAR will be based in Her Majesty’s Naval Base Portsmouth.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Unified Patent Court

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what due consideration was given to alternatives to the Unified Patent Court before the announcement of the proposed ratification of the UK's membership of the Unified Patent Court.

Joseph Johnson: Holding answer received on 07 December 2016



The Government considered its announcement to become a signatory of the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court very carefully, in the light of the benefit to business in being able to protect their patent rights across Europe in a more streamlined way and the value of having a division of the court in London. The announcement should not be seen as pre-empting the UK’s objective in the forthcoming negotiations with the EU and is without prejudice to the UK’s future position on the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the European Union on the UK has left the EU. The Unified Patent Court is established by a non-EU Intergovernmental Agreement which is currently only open to EU member states. The announcement demonstrates that the UK will continue our approach of constructive engagement as long as we remain a member of the EU.

Companies

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent estimate he has made of the number of workforce representatives on the boards of UK PLCs.

Margot James: Holding answer received on 08 December 2016



Government is committed to strengthening the worker voice in the boardroom. We are aware that some companies have appointed worker representatives to their boards. The green paper on Corporate Governance Reform explores a range of options for strengthening the worker voice.

Industry: Coastal Areas

Caroline Ansell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans his Department has to develop a coastal industrial strategy with regard to (a) renewable energy, (b) small-scale fishing, (c) aquaculture and (d) tourism; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Nick Hurd: To deliver an effective Industrial Strategy that works for all, it is important to build on local excellence and learning from our strengths to boost growth across the UK. We need to learn from the best ideas across the country - businesses, workers, consumers, the research community, and local leaders – including from coastal communities.The Government is already supporting coastal areas to create jobs and investment. By 2017 the Coastal Communities Fund will have invested over £120 million in projects that are helping to create or safeguard over 18,000 jobs, provide more than 12,000 training places and apprenticeships, and attract over £200 million of public/private sector co-finance. A further £90m is available between 2017 & 2021 and is the first time Coastal Community Teams in England are able to bid to the Coastal Communities Fund ensuring that, wherever possible, projects have the support of the local community and meet wider economic objectives.

Tidal Power

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make it his policy to consult on the recommendations of the Hendry review into tidal lagoons before a decision on the future development of such lagoons is taken.

Jesse Norman: The Government is grateful for the hard work that has gone into the Review, and will now consider this report as part of the evidence base to determine whether this technology could play a cost effective role in the UK’s energy mix. The Government will respond to the Hendry Review report in due course.

Fossil Fuels

Mr Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the proportion of known fossil fuels which need to be left in the ground to prevent global temperature change above two degrees centigrade.

Mr Nick Hurd: In 2013 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimated that to have a 50 percent chance of limiting global average temperature rise to below 2°C, the remaining permissible carbon emissions were up to 305 billion tonnes of Carbon for the period 2011 to 2100. According to the latest estimate of cumulative emission by the Global Carbon Project in 2016, this figure has reduced to 255 billion tonnes of Carbon.In 2011 the IPCC estimated the amount of carbon within existing proven reserves of coal, oil and gas to be 1,053 billion tonnes.Based on these figures, between 70-75 percent of known fossil fuels would have to be left unused in order to have a 50% chance of limiting global temperature rise to below 2°C.

Artificial Intelligence

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the extent to which the recommendations of the report by the Executive Office of the President's National Science and Technology Council Committee on Technology, entitled Preparing for the future of artificial intelligence, published in October 2016, apply to the UK.

Joseph Johnson: Holding answer received on 15 December 2016



The Royal Society is currently examining the implications of Machine Learning, alongside the Royal Society and British Academy work on Data Governance. These projects aim to develop recommendations for data governance arrangements, including ensuring the UK remains a world leader in the use and governance of artificial intelligence. The project will involve experts from across disciplines, and will look at current and historical case studies of data governance, and of broader technology governance, from a range of countries and sectors. Initial recommendations are expected in 2017.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Pay

Jake Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the percentage gap in earnings is between the highest-paid and lowest-paid full-time employee in his Department.

Margot James: Government departments do not publish details of the salary of their highest to lowest paid employees.The Office for National Statistics do, however, publish the salary ratio of highest to median earners for each Civil Service organization. These ratios are published annually as part of Civil Service Statistics and can be found on the Office for National Statistics website:https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/bulletins/civilservicestatistics/2016

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Staff

Jake Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans his Department has to include worker representation on its departmental board.

Margot James: I refer my hon. Friend to the oral statement on the Corporate Governance Green Paper of 29 November 2016, Official Report, Column 1408.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Pay

Jake Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the percentage gap in earnings is between the pay of full-time staff in the highest pay grade in his Department and average full-time pay in that Department.

Margot James: The Office for National Statistics publish the salary ratio of highest to median earners for each Civil Service organization. These ratios are published annually as part of Civil Service Statistics and can be found on the Office for National Statistics website:https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/bulletins/civilservicestatistics/2016

Coal Fired Power Stations

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent representations he has received on the potential removal of coal-powered electricity generation from the UK's energy mix.

Jesse Norman: Holding answer received on 15 December 2016



The Department launched a formal public consultation on 9 November on proposals to end electricity generation from unabated coal power stations by 2025 in Great Britain. Officials in the department are engaging a range of stakeholders as part of the consultation process. An assessment of stakeholders’ views will be published after the consultation ends in February 2017.

Iron and Steel: Manufacturing Industries

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much he plans to financially invest in the steel industry in the UK in the next three years; and what plans he has to support steel workers.

Mr Nick Hurd: We continue to work closely with all UK steel producers together with wider stakeholders, including with Trade Unions, fabricators and stockists, to explore actions industry and government can take to further support the UK steel sector. I have challenged the sector to produce a clear vision for UK steel in the context of our industrial strategy, as the best future for steel workers will be one based on sustainable long term investment by the steel companies.The Department is fully assisting the sector with the development of its vision and we have commissioned research into future market opportunities for UK Steel and the capabilities it will need to capitalise on these. The research project is overseen by a joint project of my officials and sector representatives.The Government has so far provided £126m to UK steel firms in compensation for energy costs. It has also taken action to prevent steel dumping within the EU. There are now over 40 trade defence instruments which will protect steel producers from unfair trade practices.Furthermore on December 13, we published details of upcoming steel requirements for infrastructure projects, with data on government plans to use three million tonnes of steel to 2020. Together with our revised public procurement guidance, this will give the UK steel sector the confidence and certainty to invest for the future.

Fuel Poverty

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many people are classified as fuel poor in (a) Wansbeck constituency, (b) North East England and (c) the UK.

Jesse Norman: The number of households classed as fuel poor in 2014 in (a) Wansbeck constituency, (b) North East England and (c) England can be found in the following table. We do not publish the number of households classed as fuel poor in the UK. Number of households classed as fuel poorWansbeck constituency4,259North East England139,490England2,379,357 The fuel poverty sub-regional statistics can be found here.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Staff

Helen Whately: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what measures his Department has in place to support those of its staff who have mental health problems.

Margot James: The Department is committed to ensuring the wellbeing and good mental health of its employees and has various ways in which this is done. The support includes intranet guidance material, trained Mental Health First Aiders, a staff Wellbeing and Mental Health group who offer peer-to-peer support and promote awareness of mental health issues more widely. Reasonable adjustments are also put in place where beneficial for individuals working arrangements. Additionally there is an Employee Assistance Programme for counselling support and the Occupational Health Service where individuals can be referred to by the Line Managers for assessment and recommendations to support the individual.

Energy: Meters

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many people are registered as using a pre-payment meter to access their electricity and other utilities in (a) Wansbeck constituency, (b) the North East and (c) nationally.

Jesse Norman: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy collects data, including customers’ tariff information, from the energy companies as part of the domestic fuels inquiry This data is collected by region and not by constituency.In the second quarter of 2016, 14 % of domestic standard electricity customers and 15% of domestic gas customers in the North East paid for their energy by pre-payment meter. By comparison 15% of domestic standard electricity customers and 14% of domestic gas customers in England and Wales combined paid for their energy by pre-payment meter. This data is published within our Quarterly Energy Prices publication and can be found in Tables 2.4.2 and 2.5.2 which is available here: www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/quarterly-domestic-energy-price-statics

Scientific Advisers

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he had with Dame Julia Slingo in advance of her standing down from the Scientific Advice Mechanism High-Level Group of the European Commission; and what steps he has taken to replace her with another UK scientist.

Joseph Johnson: Dame Julia Slingo informed the European Commission in October that she would be retiring from professional life and wished to stand down from the High Level Group. This was not unexpected, as Dame Julia has also stepped down as Chief Scientific Advisor to the UK Met Office as part of her retirement. The members of the High Level Group of Scientific Advisors are appointed by the Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation in a personal capacity, based on a short-list recommended by an independent Identification Committee.

Scientific Advisers

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with the European Commission on appointing a UK scientist to the Scientific Advice Mechanism High Level Group; and whether he plans to seek such an appointment before the UK leaves the EU.

Joseph Johnson: Holding answer received on 15 December 2016



The members of the High Level Group of Scientific Advisors are appointed by the Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation in a personal capacity, based on a short-list recommended by an independent Identification Committee. This short-list also serves as a pool for replacement of members of the group during its first term of office.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Apprentices

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many civil service apprentices have been appointed by his Department since it was created.

Margot James: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) was formed on 14th July from the merger of the former Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the former Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Since 14th July, BEIS has appointed 20 apprentices, and has a further 15 due to start within the next few weeks.

Manufacturing Industries: Trade Competitiveness

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to (a) expedite the Government's application to the European Commission to exempt energy-intensive industries from the indirect costs of the Renewables Obligation and small-scale Feed-in Tariffs and (b) ensure that legislation on that exemption is in place before financial year 2017-18.

Jesse Norman: Holding answer received on 15 December 2016



We are engaging with the European Commission about our state aid pre-notification to move from compensation to exemption for the indirect cost of the Renewables Obligation (RO) and small-scale Feed-in Tariffs (FiT). We aim to introduce the exemption for Energy Intensive Industries (EIIs) from 1 April 2017. The Government continues to provide relief to those EIIs most affected by the rising cost of electricity and has paid over £360m in compensation since August 2013.

Fuels: Prices

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what (a) mechanisms and (b) monitoring systems are in place to ensure that fuel pumps at filling stations deliver the correct amount of fuel so that motorists are not defrauded whether accidently or deliberately.

Margot James: Fuel pumps are required by law to be of an approved design based on national and international standards including requirements for accuracy. Each pump must be tested and verified before use. Local authority trading standards monitor the market place and can require any pump found to be inaccurate or not meeting the requirements to be taken out of use.

Innovate UK

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what Innovate UK's budget (a) was in each of the last five financial years and (b) will be in each of the next four financial years.

Joseph Johnson: Innovate UK’s core budget (Admin, Programme and Capital) from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy over the last five financial years was: 2011/12 - £370m2012/13 - £439m2013/14 - £451m2014/15 - £426m2015/16 - £547m Its budget for 2016/17 is £586m. At the 2015 Autumn Statement the Government committed to protecting, in cash terms, total spending on business led innovation through Innovate UK for the duration of the Parliament. In 2016 an additional £100m was committed for the Biomedical Catalyst and a further £2bn for R&D by the end of the Parliament. Innovate UK’s annual budget is confirmed at the beginning of each Financial Year.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Public Appointments

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what public appointments he has made in 2016.

Margot James: The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy made 71 public appointments during 2016. This figure includes those made within the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills and the Department for Energy & Climate Change. Partner OrganisationType of AppointmentRoleBritish Hallmarking Council4 new appointments 6 re-appointmentsMemberThe Engineering Construction Industry Training Board1 re-appointmentMemberNatural Environment Research Council1 re-appointmentCEOIndustrial Development Advisory Board3 new appointments 2 re-appointmentsMemberUK Commission for Employment and Skills1 new appointmentInterim ChairStudent Loans Company1 new appointment 5 new appointmentsCEO MembersMedical Research Council1 re-appointment 2 re-appointmentsCEO MemberThe Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council1 re-appointment 1 re-appointmentChair MemberBiotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council1 re-appointmentMemberScience and Technology Facilities Council1 new appointment 1 re-appointmentMemberAdvisory, Conciliation and Arbitration1 re-appointmentMemberPubs Code Adjudicator1 new appointment Ordnance Survey1 new appointmentChairMet Office2 re-appointmentsMemberUK Space Agency Steering Board1 new appointmentChairUK Green Investment Bank1 re-appointmentMemberArts and Humanities Research Council1 re-appointmentMemberLand Registry1 new appointmentChairPost Office Ltd2 re-appointmentsMembersPublic Weather Service Customer Service Group1 re-appointmentChairCompetitions Markets Authority3 new appointments 3 re-appointmentsMemberCompanies House3 new appointmentsMemberCommittee on Climate Change2 new appointmentsMembersCivil Nuclear Police Authority3 new appointments 2 re-appointmentsChair/ Members MembersGas and Electricity Markets Authority1 new appointmentMemberNational Nuclear Laboratory1 new appointmentChairCoal Authority1 new appointment 1 re-appointmentChair MemberCommittee on Radioactive Waste Management6 new appointmentsMembersCommittee on Fuel Poverty1 new appointmentChair

UK Shared Business Services

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his plans are for the future of UK Shared Business Services Ltd; and if he will make a statement.

Margot James: UK Shared Business Services Ltd (UKSBS) is a company owned by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and a number of the Department’s Arm’s Length Bodies. UKSBS provides a range of back office services to its owners and to other arm’s length bodies. The Department had previously decided that these services would be transferred to other public sector providers or the private sector and that the company would be closed. However some of the assumptions that underpinned that decision are no longer valid. Furthermore the demand for back office services has changed as a result of new proposals announced by the Government including, for example, the recent Machinery of Government changes and the creation of UK Research and Innovation (subject to Parliament). The Department is committed to modernisation, increasing flexibility and reducing operating costs, especially through the application of innovative technology and digital services. The Department is currently reviewing how its back office services should be provided in the future and the role that UKSBS might play in that provision. In the meantime UKSBS continues to provide services to its customers and will make an important contribution to the creation of, and transition to, UK Research and Innovation.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Surveys

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what annual staff surveys are carried out at the (a) Competition and Markets Authority, (b) Land Registry and (c) Ordnance Survey; and if he will place the results of each of those surveys in the Library.

Margot James: The Competition and Market Authority and Land Registry take part in the annual Civil Service People Survey. Ordnance Survey takes part in the Best Companies engagement survey. All three organisations make their results available through their respective websites.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Senior Civil Servants

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the cost of using external agencies for recruitment of senior civil service posts in (a) his Department, (b) the former Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and (c) the former Department for Energy and Climate Change in the last year for which information is available.

Margot James: The estimated cost for using external agencies for recruitment to Senior Civil Service posts in 2014/15 was: Department for Business, Innovation and Skills £155,000Department for Energy and Climate Change £176,080 Information for later years is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Temporary Employment

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much (a) his Department, (b) the former Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and (c) the former Department for Energy and Climate Change spent on non-payroll staff in (i) 2015 and (ii) 2016.

Margot James: Former Department for Energy and Climate Change (including non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs)) spend on consultancy and temporary staff for 2014-15 and 2015-16 can be found in note 7 of the Remuneration and Staff Report section of the Annual Report and Accounts 2015-16. Former Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (including NDPBs) spend on non-permanent staff for 2015-16 can be found in the Staff numbers and related costs section (page 108) of the Annual Report and Accounts 2015-16.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Temporary Employment

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many non-payroll staff are employed by his Department; and how many such staff were employed by the former Department for (a) Business, Innovation and Skills and (b) Energy and Climate Change in the last year for which information is available.

Margot James: At the end of October 2016, there were 186 non payroll staff working in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. As at 31 March 2016 the number of non-payroll staff working in the former Department for (a) Business, Innovation and Skills and (b) Energy and Climate Change, is shown in the table below. DepartmentNumber of non payroll staffBusiness, Innovation and Skills45Energy and Climate Change67

Dementia: Research

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union on continued freedom of movement for EU nationals who contribute to dementia medical research in the UK after the UK leaves the EU.

Joseph Johnson: We hugely value the contribution of EU and international staff. The UK will maintain its status as a global centre for research and innovation, including for medical research. There will be no immediate changes in circumstances for EU citizens working or studying in the UK. My Rt Hon Friend the Prime Minister has been clear that during negotiations we want to protect the status of EU nationals already living here, and the only circumstances in which that would not be possible is if British citizens’ rights in European member states were not protected in return.

Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has for the implementation of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund; and how that fund will be funded.

Joseph Johnson: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 16 December 2016.The correct answer should have been:

Yes, employees are represented on the Department’s board. The Permanent Secretary is a standing member of the Departmental Board, and meets with the Departmental Trade Unions as staff representatives. There are several other ways in which the views of employees of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy are currently already taken into account by the Departmental Board and its supporting committees. The Board regularly discusses staff related matters, such as the Civil Service People Survey results which reflect the views of the Department’s employees, including views on the transition programme to create a new Department. The Department’s governance structure includes a People and Operations Committee, chaired by the Directors General responsible for People, Corporate Services and the transition programme. This Committee has standing representation from the HR Director and staff diversity networks as full members. Recommendations from the Committee are routinely taken to the Department’s Executive Committee for endorsement and approval. The composition of the Departmental Board is determined by Cabinet Office and HMT’s Corporate Governance in Central Government Departments: Code of Good practice (2011). Cabinet Office and HMT are currently in the process of refreshing this guidance to reflect current best practice. The Board also has external Non-Executive Board Members (NEBMs) as standing members. NEBMs provide external challenge and scrutiny and offer wider stakeholder views to the Board. A New Productivity Fund (NPIF) announced in the Autumn Statement will provide for £23 billion of spending between 2017-18 and 2021-22. Through the NPIF the government will fund the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund. The fund will cover a broad range of technologies, to be decided by an evidence-based process. It will be delivered by Innovate UK and the Research Councils, and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) when it is established. We will begin to identify different challenge areas between now and the Budget in 2017. More detail on funding breakdown and proposals will be set out in due course.

Margot James: Yes, employees are represented on the Department’s board. The Permanent Secretary is a standing member of the Departmental Board, and meets with the Departmental Trade Unions as staff representatives. There are several other ways in which the views of employees of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy are currently already taken into account by the Departmental Board and its supporting committees. The Board regularly discusses staff related matters, such as the Civil Service People Survey results which reflect the views of the Department’s employees, including views on the transition programme to create a new Department. The Department’s governance structure includes a People and Operations Committee, chaired by the Directors General responsible for People, Corporate Services and the transition programme. This Committee has standing representation from the HR Director and staff diversity networks as full members. Recommendations from the Committee are routinely taken to the Department’s Executive Committee for endorsement and approval. The composition of the Departmental Board is determined by Cabinet Office and HMT’s Corporate Governance in Central Government Departments: Code of Good practice (2011). Cabinet Office and HMT are currently in the process of refreshing this guidance to reflect current best practice. The Board also has external Non-Executive Board Members (NEBMs) as standing members. NEBMs provide external challenge and scrutiny and offer wider stakeholder views to the Board. A New Productivity Fund (NPIF) announced in the Autumn Statement will provide for £23 billion of spending between 2017-18 and 2021-22. Through the NPIF the government will fund the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund. The fund will cover a broad range of technologies, to be decided by an evidence-based process. It will be delivered by Innovate UK and the Research Councils, and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) when it is established. We will begin to identify different challenge areas between now and the Budget in 2017. More detail on funding breakdown and proposals will be set out in due course.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Secondment

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many staff are seconded to his Department; and from where those staff have been seconded.

Margot James: As of the end of November, BEIS has 21 staff seconded in from other organisations.The seconding organisations into BEIS are shown below:Research Councils UKNHS Trust Development AuthorityWellcome TrustUniversity of BirminghamUniversity of SheffieldLiverpool UniversityHEFCE (Higher Education Funding Council for England)City of WestminsterIrish GovernmentFederal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (German Government)Northern Gas NetworksBP UK LtdShellUKPIAErnst and Young LLPJacobsVSO (Voluntary Service Overseas)The Crown EstateCTSI (Chartered Trading Standards Institute).

Hinckley Point C Power Station

Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's polices on Hinckley Point C of power outages at EDF nuclear reactors in France; and if he will amend the loan guarantees for the construction of Hinckley Point C to make them contingent on the start of power generation at the European Pressurised Reactor at Flamanville by 2020.

Jesse Norman: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Iron and Steel: Procurement

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when the Government plans to commence reporting on UK steel content in relation to procurement by its departments.

Mr Nick Hurd: Last Autumn, the Government issued guidance to central government departments on how to ensure that they take full account of the value provided by UK steel producers when conducting their procurement activities. This guidance has now been extended to the wider public sector. Since publication of the guidance, Government has been working closely with departments to monitor its impact and ensure delivery. There are no plans to share this data publicly, due to its provisional nature. The Government has just published its indicative future steel requirements to 2020, to enable UK steel manufacturers to better plan and bid for government contracts.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: iNHouse Communications

Melanie Onn: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has awarded any commercial contracts to iNHouse Communications Ltd in the last five years.

Margot James: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has not awarded any commercial contracts to iNHouse Communications Ltd in the last five years.

Post Offices: Franchises

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 15 November 2016 to Question 53052, when he expects the Member for Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough to receive a response from the Chief Executive of Post Office Ltd.

Margot James: Post Office Ltd has advised that it intends to send its response to the Hon Member for Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough very shortly.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Information Officers

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his Department's annual spend is on salaries for staff in press and communications roles; and how much was spent by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on salaries for staff in such roles in each year since 2010.

Margot James: An annual cost is not available. Following the Machinery of Government changes in July 2016, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is currently working to best to align its workforce in order to best deliver its objectives. This includes staff in press and communications roles.Information on the salary costs for the press and communications teams for each year since 2010 is not held centrally and would incur disproportionate costs to calculate.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Papua New Guinea: Peace Negotiations

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support the peace process in Papua New Guinea.

Alok Sharma: We are supporting the peace process in Papua New Guinea through our contribution to the UN Development Programme's peace-building and with post-conflict work in support of the Bougainville Peace Agreement. We are also encouraging dialogue between the parties, including through arranging visits to London, Northern Ireland and Scotland to share the United Kingdom's experiences of conflict resolution and referenda. The most recent visit happened in September.

Trans-Dniestr

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help resolve the frozen conflict in Trans-Dneister.

Sir Alan Duncan: The UK remains committed to supporting a comprehensive, peaceful settlement of the Transnistria conflict based on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova with a special status for the Transnistria region.Under the Conflict Security and Stability Fund (CSSF), the British Embassy in Chisinau has supported, and is continuing to support, a range of projects-including by drawing on our experience of conflict resolution in Northern Ireland and of devolution encouraging dialogue and understanding between young leaders and junior officials from Moldova and the Transnistria Region.UK-supported activities also played a key part in complementing EU Commission-led work in ensuring the application of the EU-Moldova Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) agreement to the Transnistria Region.

West Africa: Peace Negotiations

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assistance his Department provides towards helping the peace process in the Mano River region.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: My Department plays a leading role in a cross-Government effort to strengthen governance, development, prosperity and security across the four countries of the Mano River Union: Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Her Majesty's Government also pays United Nations assessed contributions to peacekeeping missions in the region. The UK is also the largest bilateral donor in the post-Ebola recovery programme in Sierra Leone. As a result of UK support considerable progress has been achieved. Sierra Leone's armed forces now participate in peacekeeping deployments in other African countries. The UN peacekeeping missions in Cote d'Ivoire and Liberia have been successful. The mission in the former will close in June 2017 and the Security Council will decide on the latter's future this month.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Recruitment

Ms Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what proportion of the £26 million, referred to in paragraph 3.34 of the Autumn Statement 2016, to recruit additional policy staff to support international trade issues will be allocated to his Department.

Sir Alan Duncan: £5.1 million of the £26 million is a direct allocation to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. A further £5.1m will be transferred through the Parliamentary Process from the Department for International Trade by 2019-20.

Uganda: Politics and Government

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of whether the arrest of King Charles Mumbere of Rwenzururu by the Ugandan government breaches the membership criteria of the Commonwealth of Nations.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Government is concerned by the violence that occurred in Kasese district in Uganda in November 2016, which resulted in the reported deaths of over 100 civilians and members of the security forces. We have raised the matter with the Government of Uganda and the Uganda Human Rights Commission. We support the EU local statement of 16 December relating to these matters.We have urged the Government of Uganda to complete a timely and transparent investigation into these incidents, in accordance with due process, rule of law, international legal obligation and in line with the commonwealth charter.I visited Uganda in August 2016 and have followed this case. We continue to believe that a human rights compliant approach is the most effective way to secure long-term peace and stability. The British High Commission work closely with the Government of Uganda, civil society and human rights defenders to ensure human rights are respected in the country. The UK made recommendations to Uganda at the Universal Periodic Review at the UN in November.

Syria: Armed Conflict

Naz Shah: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that people who have violated international humanitarian law in Syria will be brought to justice in the international courts.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The UK has a long-standing commitment to accountability, and believes that those responsible for war crimes in Syria - as elsewhere - must be held accountable.The UK continues to make the case for referring the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court (ICC). In May 2014, the UK co-sponsored a UN Security Council resolution to refer all those responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Syria, regardless of affiliation, to the ICC. Russia and China chose to veto this resolution. Russia has vetoed six resolutions on Syria since the conflict began.In support of a future process of justice, we have trained and equipped people in Syria to collect evidence of atrocities. We hope that this process, approximating to ICC standards, may form an important part of a future process to hold those responsible to account.We have made clear our strong support for the work of the independent UN Commission of Inquiry. As a result of UK diplomacy through the UN Human Rights Council, the UN Commission of Inquiry is carrying out an investigation into events in Aleppo to ensure those responsible for human rights violations and abuses are held to account.

Ghana: Overseas Aid

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support the Government is providing to the government of Ghana.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The United Kingdom provides Ghana with support in a number of areas including help to improve its macro-economic management, deliver public services, improve the accountability of government and decision-makers to its citizens and transparency particularly in the oil and gas industry, reduce barriers to business creating an environment attractive to Foreign Direct Investment and small and medium enterprises. The UK is also helping Ghana to build its capacity and capability to tackle a wide range of crime, including human and drug trafficking, illegal migration, fraud, corruption, terrorism, piracy and training for the military.

Ghana: Elections

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions the Government has had with the Ghanaian government since the general election in that country on 7 December 2016.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The United Kingdom’s High Commissioner and his team met with Ghana’s President-Elect Nana Akufo-Addo on 13 December 2016, and handed over a letter of congratulations from the Prime Minister. The Foreign Secretary spoke to the President-elect Nana Akufo-Addo on 15 December to congratulate him. They discussed the bilateral relationship and enhancing cooperation on economic growth, trade and investment, anti corruption and security.

Uganda: Politics and Government

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on the (a) arrest of King Charles Mumbere of Rwenzururu in Uganda, (b) implementation of human rights laws in that country and (c) effectiveness of democratic institutions in that country.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Her Majesty’s Government is concerned by the violence that occurred in Kasese district in Uganda in November 2016, which resulted in the reported deaths of over 100 civilians and members of the security forces. We have raised the matter with the Government of Uganda and the Uganda Human Rights Commission. We support the EU local statement of 16 December relating to these matters.We have urged the Government of Uganda to complete a timely and transparent investigation into these incidents, in accordance with due process, rule of law, international legal obligation and in line with the commonwealth charter.I visited Uganda in August 2016 and have followed this case. We continue to believe that a human rights compliant approach is the most effective way to secure long-term peace and stability. The British High Commission work closely with the Government of Uganda, civil society and human rights defenders to ensure human rights are respected in the country. The UK made recommendations to Uganda at the Universal Periodic Review at the UN in November.

Northern Ireland Office

Brexit: Republic of Ireland

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions his Department has had with the Irish government on the rights of Irish citizens in Northern Ireland after the UK leaves the EU.

James Brokenshire: The UK Government’s relationship with the Irish Government has never been stronger. I regularly meet counterparts in the Irish Government and will continue to do so as we prepare for the UK’s exit from the EU. The Government is committed to preserving the current reciprocal status of Irish citizens within the United Kingdom, including in Northern Ireland, as originally provided for in the Ireland Act 1949 and in subsequent legislation.

Common Travel Area

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what his policy is on maintaining the Common Travel Area border between the UK and the Republic of Ireland following the UK leaving the EU; and if he will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: There is a strong will to preserve the Common Travel Area. The UK Government, the Northern Ireland Executive and the Irish Government have been unequivocal – all want to maintain the current arrangements and avoid the introduction of physical border controls within the CTA.

Lough Foyle

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 13 December 2016 to Question 56613, whether the Government has had recent discussions with the government of the Irish Republic on ownership of Lough Foyle.

James Brokenshire: I regularly engage with the Irish Government on a number of issues. The management of Lough Foyle is the responsibility of the Loughs Agency, a North-South body established under the Belfast Agreement. Discussions continue between the UK Government and the Irish Government on further improvements to the day to day management of the Lough.

Attorney General

Attorney General: Pay

Jake Berry: To ask the Attorney General, what the percentage gap in earnings is between the highest-paid and lowest-paid full-time employee in the Law Officers' Departments.

Jake Berry: To ask the Attorney General, what the percentage gap in earnings is between the pay of full-time staff in the highest pay grade in the Law Officers' Departments and average full-time pay in that Department.

Robert Buckland: Government departments do not publish details of the salary of their highest to lowest paid employees. The Office for National Statistics do, however, publish the salary ratio of highest to median earners for each Civil Service organization. These ratios are published annually as part of Civil Service Statistics and can be found on the Office for National Statistics website: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/bulletins/civilservicestatistics/2016

Attorney General: Staff

Jake Berry: To ask the Attorney General, what plans the Law Officers' Departments have to include worker representation on its departmental board.

Robert Buckland: I refer my Hon. Friend to the oral statement on the Corporate Governance Green Paper of 29 November 2016, Official Report, Column 1408.

Rolls Royce: Corruption

Margaret Hodge: To ask the Attorney General, pursuant to the Answer of 25 October 2016 to Question 49510, from whom the Serious Fraud Office first received information concerning allegations of bribery and corruption at Rolls Royce.

Robert Buckland: It is not the SFO’s policy to disclose information about the source of what are confidential reports about an alleged criminal offence, or the details of a report. Releasing such information could potentially compromise criminal investigations or prosecutions and may also discourage other individuals from reporting crimes to the SFO.

Department for International Development

Department for International Development: Pay

Jake Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the percentage gap in earnings is between the pay of full-time staff in the highest pay grade in her Department and average full-time pay in that Department.

James Wharton: The Office for National Statistics publish the salary ratio of highest to median earners for each Civil Service organization. These ratios are published annually as part of Civil Service Statistics and can be found on the Office for National Statistics website at www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/ peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/bulletins/civilservicestatistics/2016

Department for International Development: Pay

Jake Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the percentage gap in earnings is between the highest-paid and lowest-paid full-time employee in her Department.

James Wharton: DFID does not publish details of the salary of their highest to lowest paid employees.The Office for National Statistics do, however, publish the salary ratio of highest to median earners for each Civil Service organization. These ratios are published annually as part of Civil Service Statistics and can be found on the Office for National Statistics website at www.ons.gov.uk/ employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/bulletins/civilservicestatistics/2016

Uganda: Overseas Aid

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what organisations received UK Aid Direct International Development funding for projects in Uganda in each of the last three years.

James Wharton: The following organisations received UK Aid Direct funding to support projects in Uganda in each of the last 3 years (2014 – 2016): AbleChildAfrica; Lively Minds; Living Earth Foundation (LEF); International Rescue Committee UK; Act4Africa UK; Hospice Africa Ltd; War on Want NI; KwaAfrica (Africare); and Signal (Sensory Impairment Globally Nationally and Locally).In addition:PONT - Partnerships Overseas Networking Trust and Build Africa received funding for a project in Uganda just in 2014;All We Can (Methodist Relief and Development Fund); Samaritan’s Purse UK; APT Action on Poverty; The Motivation Charitable Trust; Target Tuberculosis and; Send a Cow Uganda received funding in 2014 and 2015; andProtecting Families Against HIV/AIDS (PREFA) received funding in 2015 and 2016.

Bangladesh: Environment Protection

Callum McCaig: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to build climate resilience in Bangladesh.

James Wharton: DFID is supporting climate resilience in Bangladesh in line with the Government’s manifesto commitment to work to prevent climate change and assist the poorest in adapting.Current programmes are, for example, improving infrastructure and developing early warning systems to handle extreme weather. Since 2010/11 DFID has supported more than 2 million people in Bangladesh with improved access to clean energy. Bangladesh was one of the first countries to benefit from the international Green Climate Fund, with a $40 million project for climate resilient infrastructure.

Ethiopia: Environment Protection

Callum McCaig: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to build climate resilience in Ethiopia.

James Wharton: DFID is supporting climate resilience in Ethiopia in line with the Government’s manifesto commitment to work to prevent climate change and assist the poorest in adapting to it.We are providing technical assistance to the Ethiopian Government’s Climate Resilient Green Economy Facility, working to build the resilience of Ethiopia’s growth and help the most vulnerable Ethiopians. This includes supporting Ethiopia to access the Green Climate Fund to which the UK has pledged up to £720 million.

Kenya: Environment Protection

Callum McCaig: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to build climate resilience in Kenya.

James Wharton: DFID is supporting climate resilience in Kenya in line with the Government’s manifesto commitment to work to prevent climate change and assist the poorest in adapting to it.We are building resilience by supporting 1 million people to cope with the effects of climate change, and have integrated climate-proofing across the UK’s development work in Kenya. We are enabling private sector investment and innovation in green energy by mobilizing £17 million private sector finance to invest in green technologies, and are supporting the development of policies through which Kenya can fulfil its international climate commitments.

Department for Education

Apprentices

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister of State for Skills in the Technical and Further Education Public Bill Committee on 29 November 2016, column 122, what the targeted procurement organisation will be.

Robert Halfon: I would refer the honourable member to my remarks in committee https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2016-11-29/debates/d6aefa1e-b096-4f05-99f8-111bf8547cf1/TechnicalAndFurtherEducationBill(FifthSitting) column 123. I will be in a position to provide further information in due course.

Apprentices

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many apprenticeship standards relate to skills for which there are shortages in the green economy.

Robert Halfon: A variety of standards at different levels have been developed or are in development which will help provide employers and employees working in the green economy with the skills they need. These range from standards focused on occupations specific to the sector such as the one for Dual Fuel Smart Meter Installer to standards applicable to a wide range of sectors such as those covering business administration, leadership and management, customer service and financial services.

Apprentices

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 14 November 2016 to Question 52226, for what reason there is no requirement to outline a typical career progression or career path for apprenticeships past the end of an apprenticeship in the guidance criteria.

Robert Halfon: Apprenticeships give people full occupational competence and an employer a chance to invest in the skills they need. Progression opportunities will be determined by a wide range of factors including personal motivation, opportunities at the next level in the occupation or in the employer’s organisation and wider labour market factors. Additionally, career progression is not always linear for example from a technical occupation into management.It would not be possible for Government to map those many possibilities but where individuals require further career advice, it is available through the National Careers Service website; https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/, and telephone service on 0800 100 900.

Pupils: Cheshire

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what representations her Department has received on the availability and regularity of bus services for pupils travelling for Halewood to Cronton Sixth Form and Riverside College.

Robert Halfon: We are not aware of any representations on this issue.Local authorities are responsible for transport to education and training for 16- to 19-year-olds - including where students travel to school or college in a neighbouring area. Most students receive a discount or concession but it is for local authorities, along with local transport providers and schools or colleges, to decide whether to provide support and which students are eligible. These decisions are best made locally in light of local needs, the resources available, and other local circumstances.The 16 to 19 Bursary Fund can be used for transport costs to support young people to access education and training. Schools and colleges are responsible for deciding how to distribute their bursary allocations to students, and for establishing what criteria to use.

Academies: Football

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues and other stakeholders on increasing the role played by Premier League and Football League teams in supporting the Government's free school and academy programmes.

Edward Timpson: I have not had any discussions with Cabinet colleagues or other stakeholders on increasing the positive role already played by Premier League and football league teams in supporting the Government’s free school and academy programmes.

Skills Funding Agency: Staff

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has for the future staffing of the Skills Funding Agency.

Robert Halfon: Staffing of the Skills Funding Agency will continue in line with its priorities and business planning process.

Apprenticeship Delivery Board

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the process is for appointing the advisory panel of apprentices for the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education; and how she plans to ensure that that panel's membership is drawn from different occupations, backgrounds and areas of the country.

Robert Halfon: The first apprentice panel will be in place before the Institute for Apprenticeships goes live in April 2017. We are considering options for recruitment and will put in place a process to ensure that membership is diverse and drawn from different occupations, backgrounds and areas of the country.

Institute for Apprenticeships

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which locations her Department is assessing the potential merits of for the Institute of Apprentices.

Robert Halfon: There is an on-going assessment of a range of potential sites for the Institute for Apprenticeships and a final decision will be announced shortly.

Lifelong Education

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 1.102 of Budget 2016, what the planned timescale is for the review of Lifelong Learning.

Robert Halfon: In the 2016 Budget, the Government announced that it would conduct a review into the gaps in support for lifetime learning, including for flexible and part-time study.The review is on-going and the Government will announce its next steps shortly.

Children: Disadvantaged

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children living in (a) Wansbeck constituency and (b) the North East of England and (c) England received free school meals in each of the last three years.

Edward Timpson: The proportion of children attending schools in Wansbeck, the North East of England and England, who are eligible for free school meals is published annually. Data for 2016 can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2016 Data for 2015 can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2015 Data for 2014 can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2014 In each publication data showing the proportion of children eligible for free school meals in England can be found in table 3a. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals in the North East of England can be found in tables 8a, 8b, 8c and 8d. The proportion of pupils attending schools in Wansbeck who are eligible for free school meals can be found in the underlying data.

Primary Education: Sports

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding has been allocated to the Primary PE and Sport Premium in (a) 2013-14, (b) 2014-15, (c) 2015-16 and (d) 2016-17.

Edward Timpson: We want all pupils to be healthy and active. This is why since 2013 the government has provided ring-fenced funding through the Primary PE and Sport Premium to help improve the quality of PE provision. The funding allocations for the premium for academic years 2013-14 to 2016-17 are listed in the table below:YearsFunding 2013-14£158.9m2014-15£159.1m2015-16£159.8m2016-17£160.6m From September 2017 revenue from the soft drinks industry levy will be used to double the funding to £320 million a year, enabling schools to further improve the quality and breadth of PE and sport that they offer.

Faith Schools: Admissions

Mr Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the implications of the Education Policy Institute report, entitled Faith Schools, pupil performance and social selection, published on 2 December 2016, for the proposal to remove the 50 per cent cap on religious selection in faith schools.

Nick Gibb: The Education Policy Institute report does not recognise the fact that the government’s proposals are focused on creating more good school places, and therefore creating more choice for parents when selecting a school. Our proposals to expand the number of these good school places available to parents will benefit more young people and give them the chance to go as far as their talents will take them. Faith schools make up a third of all schools in England, and are among the highest performing schools in the country. More primary and secondary faith schools are judged good or outstanding than their non-faith counterparts[1] and consistently achieve higher performance in exam results. Faith schools are popular with parents and so the removal of the 50% faith cap will enable the establishment of even more good schools and places.  [1]Ofsted official statistics: Maintained schools and academies inspections and outcomes as at 31 March 2016 shows faith schools are more likely to be good or outstanding as compared to non-faith schools (89% as compared to 86% at primary; 81% as compared to 75% at secondary).

Schools: Buildings

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to monitor the quality of new Education Funding Agency-funded school building stock in relation to (a) the health and wellbeing of end-users and (b) its running and maintenance costs; and if she will take steps to ensure that the outcome of any such monitoring informs phase 2 of the Priority Schools Building Programme programme.

Edward Timpson: My department is currently developing a strategy to extend its post-occupancy evaluation programme to include all Education Funding Agency funded building stock. Post-occupancy evaluation, which includes assessment of recognised measures of health and wellbeing such as daylight, air quality and ventilation, is already being undertaken on new schools opened under the Priority School Building Programme (PSBP). We are also looking at the running cost of the new buildings and how we could assess maintenance costs going forward. Where appropriate, lessons learnt will be incorporated on PSBP phase 2 and other EFA-funded building programmes.

Schools: Buildings

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to improve communications between schools, the Education Funding Agency and contractors as a result of the findings of the report from the  Royal Institute of British Architects, Better Spaces for Learning Report, published in May 2016.

Edward Timpson: The Education Funding Agency has two frameworks of contractors which are used for procuring the vast majority of school building projects. These are currently under review and as part of this process we are reviewing the information exchanged at key points throughout the process between all parties to improve communication. We are also undertaking stakeholder engagement surveys with schools to establish where communication can be further improved.

Schools: Buildings

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to permit more flexibility in the rules governing the design and size of new schools to allow for the best possible use of resources as a result of the findings of the report from the Royal Institute of British Architects, Better Spaces for Learning Report, published in May 2016.

Edward Timpson: The size of a school is determined by the age, number and type of pupil. Our standards show that within these areas we can provide good quality learning spaces. There is flexibility in how schools are designed. It is important we do not build schools larger than necessary to maximise spending efficiencies.

Schools: Buildings

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to adopt a smarter approach to the use of building management equipment that controls the internal environment of modern school buildings as a result of the findings of the report from the Royal Institute of British Architects, Better Spaces for Learning Report, published in May 2016.

Edward Timpson: We already recognise the issues raised with regards over complex building management systems and had significantly revised our standards prior to the publication of the report. Our current standards already encourage the use of simple building management systems that can be easily monitored and controlled by school staff.

School Meals: Standards

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that academies and free schools meet the School Food Standards.

Edward Timpson: Further to our answer of 26 April to your related question (34430), the Secretary of State for Education will lead a campaign encouraging all schools to commit to the School Food Standards. We announced this through the ‘Childhood Obesity: a plan for action’, published in August 2016.

Teachers: Labour Turnover

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the retention rate is for newly qualified teachers who were recorded in service between November 2014 and November 2015; and how many such teachers entered service in that time period.

Nick Gibb: There were 24,200 newly qualified teachers (that qualified during the 2014 calendar year) who were in service in a state funded school in England by November 2014. Of these, 87% were still in post one year later in November 2015. This information is published in Table 8 of the ‘School Workforce in England: November 2015’ statistical release which is available at the following web link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-school-workforce

Teachers: Vacancies

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many teacher vacancies there are in each (a) phase and (b) region.

Nick Gibb: In November 2015, there were 350 full-time teacher vacancies in primary schools, 310 full-time teacher vacancies in secondary schools and 70 full-time teacher vacancies in special schools and pupil referral units – this is the latest information available and covers state funded schools in England. Table 14 of the ‘School Workforce in England: November 2015’ statistical release contains the detailed breakdown and time series of the vacancy data collected as part of the annual School Workforce Census. The statistical release is available at the following web link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2015 The number of full-time teacher vacancies in each region is in the following table. The data is published within the additional tables at the above link.

Class Sizes

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) primary and (b) secondary school pupils were taught in classes of 31 or more pupils in 2016.

Nick Gibb: This information is published in table 6b of the publication available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2016

Sixth Form Education: Admissions

Sir Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average GCSE score is of students currently enrolled at (a) sixth form colleges and (b) school and academy sixth forms in England.

Nick Gibb: The requested information for pupils at the end of Key Stage 5 in the academic year 2014/15 is given in the following table:Average GCSE Attainment[1],[2] of pupils at the end of key stage 5 in 2015 by school typeSchool typeNumber of eligible pupils[3]Average capped[4] GCSE and equivalents point score per pupilPercentage of students achieving 5A*-C in English and mathematics GCSEs including equivalentsSixth form colleges64,579381.281.7All state-funded schools[5]181,223390.884.1Source 16-18 attainment data [1]In 2013/14, two major reforms were implemented which affect the calculation of key stage 4 performance measures data: 1) Professor Alison Wolf’s Review of Vocational Education recommendations which: restrict the qualifications counted; prevent any qualification from counting as larger than one GCSE; and cap the number of non-GCSEs included in performance measures at two per pupil, and 2) an early entry policy to only count a pupil’s first attempt at a qualification, in subjects counted in the English Baccalaureate. Consequently, the numbers supplied prior to 2013/14 are not comparable with those from 2013/14 onwards.[2] In 2014/15, early entry policy, under which only a pupil’s first attempt at a qualification is counted in performance measures, was extended to all subjects.[3] Covers students at the end of advanced level study who were entered for at least one substantial advanced level academic or vocational qualification in the 2014/15 academic year: substantial advanced level academic or vocational qualifications are defined as qualifications that are at least the size of an A level (180 guided learning hours per year), such as a BTEC subsidiary diploma level 3. If a vocational or academic qualification is similar in size to 2 A levels it will be counted as 2 substantial level 3 qualifications. In order to be included in this table, pupils also needed a valid end of key stage 4 record, therefore the number of eligible pupils is lower than that published in the key stage 5 SFR.[4] Average capped point scores are calculated using the best 8 GCSE or equivalent results.[5] Includes school and academy sixth-forms

Sixth Form Education: Disadvantaged

Sir Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of students enrolled at (a) sixth form colleges and (b) school and academy sixth forms in December 2016 were eligible for free school meals at the age of 15.

Edward Timpson: Eleven per cent of academic aged 16-18 year olds who studied their highest qualification in 2014/15 at a sixth form college, were eligible for free school meals at academic age 15. The equivalent figure for school and academy sixth forms was ten per cent. Data for December 2016 is unavailable. Note: This proportion is based on those where the FSM status at 15 is known.Source: Department for Education’s Young Person’s Matched Administrative Dataset.

Students: Finance

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many applicants for student finance for the 2016-17 academic year are still awaiting a decision; and how many of those applicants are awaiting an immigration status check before their eligibility can be decided.

Joseph Johnson: As of 13 December 2016, 1,342 customers are awaiting an immigration status check with the Home Office before their eligibility can be decided. The Home Office works to an agreement to confirm decisions on eligibility for student funding within 10 working days. Regulatory changes that created a new long residency category of customers made earlier in 2016 have resulted in an increase in numbers of customers being referred for checks with the Home Office. This has led to an increase in processing times for such checks. Extra resource has now been provided to increase the volume completed by 25% per day. It is the responsibility of individual students to provide the necessary evidence in support of their application. My officials are working with the Home Office to explore what additional support or alternative solutions can be provided to increase the speed of immigration status checks.

Educational Institutions: Domestic Visits

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which (a) schools and (b) other educational institutions she has visited since taking office.

Caroline Dinenage: My Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has visited a number of schools and other education institutions in the course of her official duties. Visits to schools are listed in the table below: NAMELOCATIONDATETYPESouthfields AcademyPutney, SW18 5JU25/08/16Academy Converter (Secondary)Ashburnham Community SchoolChelsea & Fulham, SW10 0DT29/09/16Community School (Primary)Prudhoe Community High SchoolNorthumberland, NE42 5LJ13/10/16Community School (Secondary)UTC OxfordshireOxfordshire, OX11 6BZ17/10/16UTCOasis Academy LimesideOldham, OL8 3SB19/10/16Academy Converter (Secondary)Waverley SchoolBirmingham, B9 5QA17/11/16Academy Converter (Primary and Secondary)Handsworth Grammar SchoolBirmingham, B21 9ET17/11/16Voluntary Aided Grammar School (Secondary)St Francis Catholic Primary SchoolBirmingham, B19 1PH17/11/16Voluntary Aided School (Primary)Kesteven and Sleaford High School Selective AcademySleaford and North Hykeham, NG34 7RS28/11/16Academy Converter Grammar School (Secondary)St Bede’s Catholic CollegeBristol, BS11 0SU15/12/16Academy Converter (Secondary)  My Rt. Hon Friend’s visits to other educational institutions are listed in the table below: NAMELOCATIONDATETYPEWalsall CollegeWalsall, WS2 8ES21/07/16FE CollegeUniversity of Derby: Buxton and Leek FE CollegeDerbyshire, DE22 1GB18/10/16FE CollegeCity College NorwichNorwich, NR2 2LJ20/10/16FE CollegeBlackpool and the Flyde CollegeBlackpool, FY7 8JZ01/12/16FE College

Academies

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the average cost of converting a local authority maintained school to an academy.

Edward Timpson: The costs of becoming an academy vary from school to school. Schools that become academies each receive a standard pre-opening grant relative to their particular circumstances.Currently, these tariffed grants contribute towards the costs of conversion incurred by schools in establishing the academy. These may include legal fees, as well as costs associated with transfer of land, transfer of software licences, HR and TUPE advice, setting up an Academy Trust and paying for school improvement capacity.

Academies: Finance

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many academy trusts made related-party transactions in the last financial year for which data is available.

Edward Timpson: In the year ended 31 August 2015 1200 academy trusts made related party transactions. This information is taken from trusts’ published financial statements.

Schools: Sponsorship

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many independent schools sponsor state schools.

Edward Timpson: As at 01 November 2016 eight independent schools sponsor academies and three independent schools have established free schools.

Academies: Headteachers

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many academy headteachers earn more than the Prime Minister.

Nick Gibb: In November 2015, there were 59 head teachers in academies and Free Schools recorded receiving an actual salary of more than the Prime Minister, £142,500. This figure includes executive head teachers who are in charge of more than one school.This information is collected in the School Workforce Census which covers state funded schools in England and is the latest available.

University Technical Colleges

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to help prevent further closures of university technical colleges.

Edward Timpson: This government is committed to ensuring that young people have access to high quality technical education including through UTCs.Learning from the experiences of the early UTCs, we are strengthening the programme through a number of reforms, including improving educational outcomes through partnerships with successful secondary schools and multi-academy trusts. We are also consulting with local authorities on potentially making changes to school information regulations to require them to write to parents of Year 9 children about options for study at age 14, to help ensure parents are better aware of the options open to young people at this age.These changes are aimed at ensuring that we establish high quality, popular UTCs that meet the needs of the local, regional and national economy, and are able to attract sufficient students.

Department for Education: Information Officers

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department spent on communications and media staff in (a) 2015 and (b) 2016; and how much her Department expects to have spent on such staff in 2016-17.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department for Education communications group spent £2,395,172 in the financial year 2014-15, £2,175, 580 in 2015-16 and will spend £2,662,236 in 2016-17 on staff. The last figure has increased due to the department taking on HE and FE work. This is substantially lower than communications staff costs in 2010-11 which were £4,360,283.

Pre-school Education: Standards

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children are in the lowest-attaining (a) 18.6 and (b) 21.5 per cent within the early years foundation stage profile; and how many such children are in each (i) region and (ii) local authority area.

Caroline Dinenage: On 20 October, the Department published the early years foundation stage profile (EYFSP) results for the 2015 to 2016 academic year, at national and local authority level. At a national level, 69.3% of children achieved a good level of development (GLD), which is an increase of 3 percentage points on 2015. The same trend was seen in the percentage achieving at least the expected level across all early learning goals, which has increased by 3.2 percentage points from 2015. The EYFSP results are available at: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/early-years-foundation-stage-profile-results-2015-to-2016. Information about the number of children in (a) the lowest attaining 18.6 per cent and (b) the lowest attaining 21.5 per cent of children within the early years foundation stage profile broken down by region and local authority is provided in an attachment to this response.



Attachment
(Excel SpreadSheet, 27.8 KB)

Schools: Closures

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 8 December 2016 to Question 55853, who records the cost of school closures.

Nick Gibb: The Local Authority is responsible for the cost of the closure of local authority maintained schools. The Academy Trust and the Department for Education is responsible for the cost of closing an academy. However, these costs are not collected centrally.

Academies

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many academy conversions her Department expects to have been completed between 1 January 2016 and 1 January 2017.

Edward Timpson: Since 01 January 2016, 870 schools have converted to academies, of which 666 were academy converters and 204 were sponsor-led academies.For schools due to become academies between now (15 December 2016) and 01 January 2017, we cannot confirm the conversion numbers until January 2017.Source: Edubase 15/12/2016

Penn School

Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions she has had with (a) the Education Funding Agency and (b) other statutory bodies about the future use of the former Penn School site; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Timpson: The department has received and responded to correspondence about the site of the former Penn School. There is a meeting scheduled to take place with Mr Baker and Martin Post, Regional Schools Commissioner (RSC) for North West London and South Central England, on 13 January 2017 in order to discuss the future of the school site and provide some assurances. A representative from the Free Schools Regional Delivery team is also available to be contacted prior to this meeting.

Department for Education: Apprentices

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many civil service apprentices her Department has appointed since the civil service apprenticeship scheme was created.

Caroline Dinenage: The civil service fast-track apprenticeship scheme was launched in September 2013.The Department for Education has appointed apprentices from the scheme every year.It has also recruited other apprentices outside of the central scheme. The number ofapprentices recruited each year is in the following table: Central Scheme (Level 4)Other apprentices (Level 2 and 3)2013/141502014/1520142015/1648162016/171625  A further 35 apprentices from the central scheme and 13 other apprentices have been offered apprenticeships at the Department and are expected to start in early 2017.

Pupil Premium

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her oral contribution on 14 December 2016, Official Report, column 797, whether the commitment to protect the pupil premium at current rates throughout the remainder of the current Parliament means protecting that premium in real terms.

Edward Timpson: We confirmed at the spending review in November 2015 that the pupil premium would be protected at current rates until 2019-20. This means for each eligible primary school pupil, schools will receive £1,320 and for each eligible secondary school pupil, schools will receive £935. More information can be found in the pupil premium conditions of grant, a published guidance document available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-conditions-of-grant-2016-to-2017/pupil-premium-2016-to-2017-conditions-of-grant.

Teachers: Graduates

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to encourage graduates with a first class degree into the teaching profession; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: The Government is committed to recruiting the most talented graduates to enter Initial Teacher Training (ITT). We offer a range of financial incentives to attract the best graduates into teaching. In September 2016, we announced tax-free bursaries for those training in 2017/18. In several subjects and primary, trainees with a first class degree are eligible for the highest bursary. We also offer prestigious scholarships in chemistry, computing, geography, languages, maths and physics, delivered in partnership with the professional bodies for these subjects. These are aimed at top graduates, particularly those with first class degrees, who have the potential to be outstanding teachers. In addition, the Government continues to support the growth of Teach First, a two-year teacher training programme recruiting high quality graduates, 21% with first class degrees and 71% from Russell Group universities in 2016/17, to train in schools in some of the most deprived areas of the country.The most recent ITT Census figures show that the quality of entrants continues to be high, with 18% of this year’s postgraduate cohort holding a first class degree. This proportion is unchanged since last year, is the highest on record and is up from 10% in 2010/11.

Pupil Premium

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many inspections have been undertaken by Ofsted into the effective use of the Early Years Pupil Premium by providers in each year since that premium was introduced.

Caroline Dinenage: Ofsted collects evidence on the impact of the Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) on children’s progress in its inspections of early years settings. This evidence forms part of the assessment of the setting to arrive at an overall inspection judgement. Ofsted publishes termly statistics on the number of inspections of early years providers conducted, available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/early-years-and-childcare-statistics. We are currently conducting a Study of Early Education and Development into the effectiveness of the EYPP and also a survey to explore how providers use their early entitlement funding, including the EYPP, to address disadvantage and deprivation within their settings. Both reports are due for completion in the new year.

Pre-school Education: Pupil Premium

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how her Department monitors the effective use of the Early Years Pupil Premium by childcare providers.

Caroline Dinenage: Ofsted collects evidence on the impact of the Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) on children’s’ progress in its inspections of early years settings. This evidence forms part of the assessment of the setting to arrive at an overall inspection judgement. Ofsted publishes termly statistics on the number of inspections of early years providers conducted, available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/early-years-and-childcare-statistics. We are currently conducting a Study of Early Education and Development into the effectiveness of the EYPP and also a survey to explore how providers use their early entitlement funding, including the EYPP, to address disadvantage and deprivation within their settings. Both reports are due for completion in the new year.

Grammar Schools: Food

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the School Food Standards will be made mandatory for new grammar schools.

Edward Timpson: The School Food Standards apply to all local authority maintained schools and to academies that opened prior to 2010 and from June 2014 onwards. We do not have any plans to omit any new schools from this requirement.

Grammar Schools: Social Mobility

Patricia Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential effect on social mobility of proposed changes to the Government's policy on selective schools.

Nick Gibb: This government wants a school system that works for everyone. Grammar schools provide a good or outstanding education for the children attending them, regardless of background. We need to do more to increase the number of pupils from disadvantaged background that are attending grammar schools. That is why we have consulted on new conditions to ensure that selective schools contribute to driving up standards for all pupils, in both selective and non-selective schools.

Schools: Finance

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress the Government is making on ensuring that funding is fairly distributed to schools across England.

Nick Gibb: The way schools funding is currently distributed is unfair, opaque and outdated. As the Secretary of State announced to the House on the 14 December, we are introducing a national funding formula which will, for the first time, create a clear and transparent system that matches funding to children’s needs. All schools will receive consistent and fair funding, to enable them to give every child the opportunity to reach their full potential.

Higher Education: Research

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential effect on higher education research funding of the UK's decision to leave the EU.

Joseph Johnson: Science and research are vital to our country’s prosperity, security and wellbeing. This Government is committed to ensuring the best possible outcome for UK research as we exit the EU. Treasury’s announcement to underwrite competitively bid-for Horizon 2020 funding while we remain a member of the EU reaffirms this commitment. Access to EU funding after exiting the EU will be a matter for the negotiations that will follow the triggering of Article 50.

Schools: Floods

Sir Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on protecting vulnerable schools from flooding.

Nick Gibb: School buildings should enable children to be taught within a weather-proof and safe environment. The Department for Education regularly reviews its winter preparedness for schools. Officials at the Department continue to work with the Cabinet Office’s Winter Resilience Network. Following Storm Desmond and Storm Eva last winter, the Department has been working with appropriate local bodies to ensure flood resilience is considered as part of reinstatement works.

Teachers: Recruitment

Roger Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her  Department has made of the projected number of teachers required to meet demand in England in each of the next three years.

Nick Gibb: The Department estimates, using the Teacher Supply Model, the number of qualified teachers required in English state-funded schools. This model estimates the need for 461,000 teachers in 2017/18, rising to 467,200 in 2019/20. The Teacher Supply Model is also used to estimate the national requirements for the number of postgraduate Initial Teacher Training places needed to meet demand. Recruitment is currently underway for the 2017/18 training year.

Church Schools: Community Relations

Mr Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of Roman Catholic schools in contributing  to social cohesion.

Nick Gibb: Catholic schools are popular and ethnically diverse. They make a positive contribution to our society and education system and are amongst the highest performing schools nationally We want more good schools and to more quality providers to establish them. Our consultation, Schools that Work for Everyone, is aimed at creating more good schools and improving social cohesion so that more young people have the chance to go as far as their talents will take them.

Ministry of Justice

Bedford Prison

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) prisoners have been removed from and (b) cells require repair in HMP Bedford after the disturbance on 6 November 2016.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Improving safety and decreasing violence in prisons is a key priority. Last month we launched the Prison Safety and Reform White Paper and we are already implementing measures to tackle drugs, drones and phones. This major overhaul of the prison system will include the recruitment of an extra 2,500 frontline officers. Our reforms will empower governors to make the changes they need, ensuring that prisons are places of safety and reform.225 prisoners were removed from HMP Bedford following the disturbance on 6 November 2016. 140 cells required repair. A programme of works was immediately put in place to bring cells back into operation as soon as possible.

Matrimonial Proceedings: Legal Aid Scheme

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will publish any assessment her Department has made of the effect of reduction in legal aid on the ability of those with low incomes to afford representation in divorce proceedings.

Sir Oliver Heald: The Government will carry out a Post Implementation Review of the legal aid provisions in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, including the changes to the scope of legal aid in private family law proceedings. An announcement on this will be made in due course.

Judiciary: Greater London

Paul Scully: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what training is provided to magistrates and judges in Greater London on understanding the nature and effect of domestic abuse and of coercive and controlling behaviour.

Dr Phillip Lee: I refer the Honourable Member to the answer given to PQ 54250 on 22 November 2016.

Nuisance: Sentencing

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance is issued to the Crown Prosecution Service and Crown Court judges on sentences for the offence of public nuisance; and how many guilty verdicts in such cases have led to custodial sentences in the last 12 months.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The government does not issue guidance to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and Crown Court judges. The CPS follow the Code for Crown Prosecutors and the independent Sentencing Council issue sentencing guidelines to the courts.The statistics regarding the number of guilty verdicts for the offence of public nuisance are available online and can be accessed on gov.uk.

Guardianship: Powers

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress her Department is making on introducing guardianship powers for families of missing relatives; and if she will make a statement.

Sir Oliver Heald: The government is preparing legislation to create a new legal status of guardian of the property and affairs of a missing person and will introduce it as soon as parliamentary time permits.

Prime Minister

Prime Minister: Christmas Cards

Luciana Berger: To ask the Prime Minister, how much 10 Downing Street has spent on (a) Christmas cards and (b) postage of Christmas cards in December 2016 to date.

Mrs Theresa May: I have sent Christmas cards to a wide range of people, as previous Prime Ministers have done. All expenditure incurred in the purchase and posting of these cards is in accordance with the departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Charities: Yorkshire and the Humber

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many registered charities there were based in (a) Hull and (b) the East Riding of Yorkshire in each year since 2009-10.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Charity Commission. I have asked the Chief Executive to reply. Letter from Paula Sussex, dated December 2016: As the Chief Executive of the Charity Commission I have been asked to answer your written parliamentary question on how many registered charities there were based in (a) Hull and (b) the East Riding of Yorkshire in each year since 2009-10. The Commission’s public register of charities displays information about over 165,000 charities. Using the online search tool we can confirm that, as of 13 December 2016, there are a total of 499 charities who have told us they are operating in the local authority area of Kingston Upon Hull City. The total number of charities operating in the local authority area of the East Riding of Yorkshire is 1306[1]. The public register of charities changes on a daily basis. We do not hold snapshot historic data for the number of charities in specific local areas for previous years. However, the Commission does hold information on when charities operating in particular areas have been registered. Please find the number of charities that were registered and listed as operating in either local authority area for each 12 month period since 2009. Charities registered during the periodKingston Upon Hull CityEast Riding of Yorkshire1 April 09 – 31 March 1015411 April 10 – 31 March 1112351 April 11 – 31 March 129301 April 12 – 31 March 1311291 April 13 – 31 March 1421431 April 14 – 31 March 1516271 April 15 – 31 March 161849 Members of Parliament can also search for the number of charities whose main contact is registered in their constituency or local authority area here - http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/ShowCharity/registerofcharities/mapping/Search.aspx I do hope that this information is helpful. [1] These figures do not include charities who operate in more than ten local authority areas as they are listed as ‘operating throughout England and Wales’.

Social Networking: Bullying

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions her Department has had with teachers and other education providers on training for teachers on issues raised by online abuse.

Mr Rob Wilson: Teacher training and education is a matter for the Department for Education. However, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport works closely with colleagues at the Department for Education on child internet safety issues.

Sky: 21st Century Fox

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how she plans to notify hon. Members immediately in the event that 21st Century Fox gives her formal notification of its takeover bid for Sky (a) when the House is sitting and (b) during recess.

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans she has to consult hon. Members on issuing a public interest intervention notice in the event that 21st Century Fox gives formal notification of its takeover bid for Sky during the Christmas recess.

Mr Rob Wilson: As my Rt. Hon. Friend [the Minister of State for Digital and Culture] made clear in his response to the Urgent Question on 12 December [tabled by the Hon. Member for Cardiff West [Kevin Brennan] [vol 618 col 512]] the role of Secretary of State here will be a quasi judicial one and she will make decisions and announcements in accordance with the requirements of such a role.

Department for Work and Pensions

Employment and Support Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much of the additional £100 million funding for employment support announced in Summer Budget 2015 and referred in the Work, health and disability green paper: improving lives, published in October 2016, will be used to fund the new work and health programme.

Penny Mordaunt: As part of our broader new Personal Support Package, we are investing £330m on support for people with limited capability for work, over the course of four years from April 2017, rising from £60m in 2017/18 to £100m in 2020/21. Details of the Package in 2017/18 were set out in the Improving Lives Green Paper. Decisions on future year spending will be made in due course. Participation on the Work & Health Programme will be voluntary; therefore, at this early stage we cannot exactly determine how much of the Personal Support Package will be spent on the new Work & Health Programme.

Employment and Support Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on what the additional £100 million funding for employment support announced in Summer Budget 2015 and referred in the Work, health and disability green paper: improving lives, published in October 2016, will be spent.

Penny Mordaunt: As part of our broader new Personal Support Package, we are investing £330m on support for people with limited capability for work, over the course of four years from April 2017, rising from £60m in 2017/18 to £100m in 2020/21. Details of the Package in 2017/18 were set out in the Improving Lives Green Paper. Decisions on future year spending will be made in due course.

Families

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 31 October 2016 to Question 50529, which 12 local authorities the Government has been working with to help develop evidence-based strategic delivery plans to embed relationship support into local services for families.

Caroline Nokes: The 12 local authorities delivering the Local Family Offer, which is trialling evidence-based strategic delivery plans to embed relationship support into local services for families, are: BlackpoolBlackburn with DarwenCroydonDorsetEssexGatesheadGreater ManchesterHertfordshireLambethLutonNewcastleWestminster

Families

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 31 October 2016 to Question 50529, what plans his Department has to carry out a review of the link between poor relationship outcomes and child life chances and effectiveness of relationship support.

Caroline Nokes: The Department funded the Early Intervention Foundation (EIF) to complete the evidence review ‘What works to enhance inter-parental relationships and improve children's outcomes’, which was published on 22 March 2016. This evaluates the impact of inter-parental relationships on children’s outcomes and is informing the development of our new programme to tackle parental conflict. This review included an assessment of the effectiveness of 15 UK programmes which aim to enhance the inter-parental relationship and improve outcomes for children, in addition to further international evidence. The Department continues to fund and work with the EIF to expand the evidence base for the effectiveness of such interventions.

Families

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 31 October 2016 to Question 50529, how much is being allocated for the bid process for contracts to deliver targeted relationship support from 2017-18 onwards.

Caroline Nokes: A budget of £7.8m p.a. will be available for 2017-2018 and 2018-19 The budget may remain available in 2019-2020 to extend contracts for a further period, subject to the Department’s review process of the programme as a whole.

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the rate of error in his Department's decisions on benefit sanctions; and if he will make a statement.

Damian Hinds: The latest available information on Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance sanctions, including the number of cancellations, Mandatory Reconsiderations and Appeals, is published at:https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/. Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at: https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Farmers: Mental Health

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 6 December 2016 to Question 55821, if she will make it her policy to provide support to farmers who are experiencing depression or anxiety related to delayed single payments and other financial issues.

George Eustice: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 15 December 2016.The correct answer should have been:

In 2015 the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) offered a hardship fund to help farmers with delayed payments and in financial need. For 2016, the RPA began making Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payments when the payment window opened on 1 December. On 13 December the Agency announced that it had made payments, worth £8822 million, to approximately 68% (around 59,000) of eligible claimants with a range of claim types and sizes, including those inspected and with common land. The RPA remains focused on paying 90% of eligible claims by the end of the month. The RPA is working with a range of farming help organisations such as the Farming Community Network and the Citizens’ Advice Bureau. Should the RPA need to make use of BPS Financial Support Payments to deal with hardship cases it will do so.

George Eustice: In 2015 the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) offered a hardship fund to help farmers with delayed payments and in financial need. For 2016, the RPA began making Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payments when the payment window opened on 1 December. On 13 December the Agency announced that it had made payments, worth £8822 million, to approximately 68% (around 59,000) of eligible claimants with a range of claim types and sizes, including those inspected and with common land. The RPA remains focused on paying 90% of eligible claims by the end of the month. The RPA is working with a range of farming help organisations such as the Farming Community Network and the Citizens’ Advice Bureau. Should the RPA need to make use of BPS Financial Support Payments to deal with hardship cases it will do so.

Food: Waste

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what representations her Department has received on introducing a ban on supermarkets destroying or disposing of unsold food; and if she will make a statement.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: In the last 18 months Defra has received a significant amount of correspondence on issues related to unsold food in supermarkets.Less than 3% of all UK post-farm gate food wasted in the supply chain is from supermarkets, so we need the whole chain to work together.The Government has instigated a variety of actions to increase surplus food redistribution including development of a partnership model to help facilitate closer working between potential donors and recipients of food surpluses. The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has also established a Redistribution Working Group under Courtauld 2025 to share best practice and help identify and overcome barriers to redistributing food.All major UK supermarkets now have relationships with redistribution organisations and WRAP estimates that 47,000 tonnes of surplus food – the equivalent to 90 million meals - was redistributed by the manufacturing and retail sector in 2015.

Biodiversity: British Overseas Territories

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to match EU funding for biodiversity projects in the UK after the UK leaves the EU.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Funding for biodiversity is a key priority for agri-environment schemes under our Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE). The Government has guaranteed funding for new RDPE projects, including agri-environment ones, agreed before we leave the EU, provided they are good value for money and are in line with domestic strategic priorities. Funding is also guaranteed for EU LIFE projects even when those projects continue beyond the UK’s departure from the EU. EU LIFE plays an important role in supporting projects which help protect and conserve the natural environment.

Packaging: Recycling

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2016 to Question 56277, when she expects data on the proportion of packaging waste recycled in 2016 to become available.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2016 to Question 56277, whether the figures provided for recycled and recovered waste in 2019 have been transposed in that Answer.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Full validated data for 2016 will be available on 31 March next year. The estimated figures for 2019 should read as set out in the table below: %2019% recycled58-62% recovered63-67

Flood Control: Lancaster

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding has been allocated to Lancashire for flood defences since December 2015.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Holding answer received on 16 December 2016



In Lancashire, a total of £91.9 million has been allocated to flood and coastal risk management schemes in the Government’s six year capital investment programme between 2016 and 2021.

Soil: Carbon

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to collect soil organic carbon level data on farms.

George Eustice: Holding answer received on 16 December 2016



The Government last measured soil carbon under the Countryside Survey, carried out in 2007. It is usual practice for farmers to take their own soil samples and an increasing number of them are having their samples measured to gain a better understanding of their soils and how to manage them. We have been exploring via a Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) fellowship whether we can use farmer collected data to understand what is happening at a national level.

Wind Power: Birds

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information her Department holds on the estimated number of birds killed annually by the operation of wind turbines.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Defra does not hold information in relation to the estimated number of birds killed annually by the operation of wind turbines in the UK.

Ivory: Trade

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when her Department plans to launch its consultation on proposals for a limited ban on the ivory trade; and whether she plans to include in that consultation a question on whether items dated to before 1947 should be included in such a ban.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans for her Department's consultation on proposals for a limited ban on the ivory trade to include a question on the feasibility of enforcing a ban which continues to permit the sale of items dated to before 1947.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: We will consult on our proposal to ban sales of ivory products that are less than 70 years old as of March 2017, early next year. As part of this, we plan to seek evidence on options and impacts of taking further action. We will also consider further whether additional measures are necessary to ensure a robust enforcement regime to accompany any new rules.

Waste Disposal

Dr Paul Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what representations she has received from businesses on the decision of the Environment Agency to close its Definition of Waste Panel to new applications; and what assessment she has made of the effect of that closure on businesses.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Defra and the Environment Agency have received 12 representations from businesses and three from the trade press about the closure of the Definition of Waste Panel. A review of the points made by businesses shows that their main concerns relate to economic effects, business development and innovation.

Floods

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which sites she has identified as being at high risk from potential flooding caused by storms this winter.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: By the end of September 2016 the standard of protection to all communities affected by last winter’s flooding had been restored to the same standard as before last winter’s storms. Temporary measures are in place to protect communities where permanent repairs will take longer to complete. You can check your flood risk at https://www.gov.uk/check-flood-risk The Met Office’s three month outlook for December, January and February suggests that the most likely outcome overall is for a typical winter. For December-January-February period as a whole, below-average precipitation is slightly more probable than above-average.

Home Office

Visas

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many visitor visas have been granted in each of the last five years.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The information requested for the last 5 calendar years is published in table vi_01_q (visa data tables volume 1) in ‘Immigration Statistics, April - June 2016’, available from the Home Office website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-april-to-june-2016/list-of-tables#visas

Home Office: EU Law

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the contribution of the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to the Environmental Audit Committee on 25 October 2016, Question 332, what proportion of existing EU legislation within the policy remit of her Department cannot immediately be brought into UK law upon the UK leaving the EU.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Government will bring forward legislation in the next session that, when enacted, will repeal the European Communities Act 1972 and ensure a functioning statute book on the day we leave the EU. This ‘Great Repeal Bill’ will end the authority of EU law and return power to the UK. The Bill will convert existing European Union law into domestic law, wherever practical. The Government will set out the content of the Bill and its implications in due course.

Motor Vehicles: Foreign Nationals

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 18 November 2016 to Question 50859, how many foreign-registered cars were seized and impounded by Lancashire Constabulary in England in each month between 1 January 2015 and 30 September 2016.

Brandon Lewis: We do not hold information centrally on the number of illegal foreign registered vehicles seized and impounded by Lancashire Constabulary. This is an operational matter for the police and other partner agencies.

Immigration Controls: Heathrow Airport

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the efficiency and effective working of E-passport checking machines at Heathrow Airport.

Mr Robert Goodwill: In the last 12 months the number of egates at Heathrow has been significantly increased, rising from 25 to 55 across the 4 terminals, with a further 9 due to go live at T5 in January 2017. In the last 12 months nearly 9 million passengers have used the gates at Heathrow. The gates continue to meet their agreed service level agreements for availability. Efficiencies are derived from the fact passengers using a bank of 5 gates can be monitored by a single officer and by the egates offering a quicker service to passengers through the border. Supplementary measures are also in place to ensure Border Force Security objectives are met.

Refugees: Greece

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been (a) identified, (b) assessed and (c) transferred under the family unity provisions of the Dublin III Regulation from Greece to the UK since January 2016.

Mr Robert Goodwill: We will always fully consider cases passed to us under the Dublin Regulation, and have made significant progress in improving and speeding up the existing processes via Dublin especially since the beginning of the year. Any request to unite family members under the Dublin Regulation is carefully considered. Where someone seeking asylum elsewhere in the EU can demonstrate they have close family members legally in the UK, we will take responsibility for that claim. At present we do not publish data on cases covered by the Dublin Regulation. The latest release of published data on asylum can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/572374/asylum1-q3-2016-tables.ods

Asylum: Hostels

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in which (a) local authority areas and (b) Parliamentary constituencies new asylum hostels are planned to open in the next six months.

Mr Robert Goodwill: There are currently seven permanent Initial Accommodation centres located across the United Kingdom in the cities of Liverpool, Cardiff, Birmingham, London, Wakefield and Glasgow. However, we cannot comment on the individual locations of the centres for the safety of the asylum seekers housed there.The COMPASS Providers are currently exploring, with support from UK Visas and Immigration, the feasibility of additional initial accommodation centres to temporarily accommodate asylum seekers. However, no new sites have been confirmed and any that are proposed will be subject to consultation with the relevant local authority.

Human Trafficking: Criminal Proceedings

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many victims of trafficking were witnesses or accused in criminal proceedings in each year from 2010 to 2015.

Sarah Newton: Records on the number of trafficking victims appearing as witnesses or defendants in criminal proceedings are not collated. We have introduced a range of measures to protect victims of modern slavery who may find themselves part of criminal proceedings, including a statutory defence for those compelled to commit certain offences as a direct consequence of their exploitation and the provision of special support services for witnesses in courts.

Immigration Controls: EU Nationals

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the extra resources needed at ports to process the arrival of EU citizens following the UK's withdrawal from the EU.

Mr Robert Goodwill: There are a number of options as to how EU migration might work once we have left the European Union. We are considering various options and it would be wrong to set out further positions at this stage.

Passports

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will direct HM Passport Office to design a passport with a blue cover.

Mr Robert Goodwill: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Romford on 9th November, UIN 47644.

Crime: Rural Areas

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the use of drones in connection with rural crime.

Brandon Lewis: The Home Office has not made an assessment of the use of drones in connection with crime committed in rural areas. Overall, people in rural areas are less likely to be the victims of crime compared to those in urban areas, and the election of Police and Crime Commissioners has given all communities a much stronger voice in determining how police resources are allocated to tackle the crimes that matter most to them.

Home Office: Public Expenditure

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people her Department has had on record as having no recourse to public funds in each year since 2010.

Mr Robert Goodwill: I am sorry but the specific information is not available in the format requested, and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. The latest published migration statistics can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-statistics.

Health Services: Females

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her will make an assessment of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on funding for specialist women's services.

Sarah Newton: The Government is carefully considering all implications of the UK leaving the European Union and has held preliminary discussions with the voluntary sector, including specialist women's services, about any potential effects.The Government published a new Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy on 8 March setting out an ambitious programme to make tackling VAWG everybody’s business, ensure victims and survivors get the support they need and inspire confidence in the Criminal Justice System to bring more perpetrators to justice as well as doing more to rehabilitate offenders.The strategy committed £80 million between 2016 and 2020 to protect women and girls from violence. This increased funding will help to deliver our goal to work with local commissioners to deliver a secure future for rape support centres, refuges and FGM and Forced Marriage Units, whilst driving a major change across all services which promotes early intervention and prevention including through specialist domestic and sexual violence charities.

Data Protection

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what safeguards are in place to ensure that data held under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 is secure; and what discussions she has had with internet service providers on that matter.

Mr Ben Wallace: The Government is committed to ensuring sufficient safeguards are in place to keep retained data secure. Communications service providers (CSPs) must comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Privacy and Electronic Communication Regulations 2003. In addition to these general requirements, CSPs required to retain data under the Investigatory Powers Act must put in place appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure that the data is adequately protected while it is being retained. They will also be required to follow the principles of security, integrity and destruction in the draft Communications Data Code of Practice. Furthermore, the systems the data is retained in are built to meet stringent security requirements. Where appropriate, data is retained in dedicated stores and securely separated from business systems by a firewall. The Act requires the Information Commissioner to audit the security of retained data.The Government maintain regular engagement with CSPs subject to retention notices and have a strong track record of ensuring the security of retained communications data. There was a considerable amount of engagement with CSPs during the passage of the Investigatory Powers Act, including the previous Home Secretary, other Ministers and officials meeting the operators most likely to be required to retain data. Engagement is ongoing as we implement the Act.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Stuart C. McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Oral Answer of 5 December 2016, Official Report, column 4, on documentation relating to EU nationals resident in the UK, what options she is considering for that documentation; and what the estimated costs are of those options.

Mr Robert Goodwill: There are a number of options as to how EU migration might work once we have left the European Union. We are considering various options and it would be wrong to set out further positions at this stage.

Immigration Controls: EU Nationals

Martin Docherty-Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with her European counterparts on strengthening EU-wide border controls, coast guard provision and asylum systems in order to treat people arriving in Europe swiftly and with due diligence on account of EU legislation.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Home Secretary regularly discusses migration issues with European counterparts, both during bilateral discussions and other forums such as Justice and Home Affairs Council, even though the UK has retained its border controls and decides UK participation in individual European measures on a case by case basis.We regularly discuss the importance of work by other European countries to strengthen EU-wide border controls through increased checks and effective swift processing of asylum applications, improved cooperation between national and EU agencies, and improvements to European asylum systems. We are clear on the importance of this work as part of a comprehensive approach to tackling illegal migration into Europe.

Emergency Services: Mobile Radios

Calum Kerr: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the emergency services network masts will be designed and built to provide multi-occupancy sites from all four mobile network operators.

Calum Kerr: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether geographic location data for the emergency services network sites built by (a) the Government and (b) EE will be published.

Brandon Lewis: In delivering the Emergency Services Network (ESN), the mobile network operator EE will deliver up to 291 new mast sites. Government will deliver approximately 230 further sites (known as the “Extended Area Services” (EAS) sites) in the most remote and rural areas of Great Britain.Under the terms of the State Aid decision for ESN, any ESN site where EE offers a commercial service must be made available to the other UK mobile operators and interested parties to provide their own a service on an equal and non-discriminatory basis.There are 18 potential EAS sites being considered in the constituency of Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk. There are currently up to 5 proposed new EE sites in the constituency. Delivery of these sites is subject to planning permission and the acquisition of land.

Schools: Undocumented Migrants

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions the Government had with the Scottish Government on proposals to require schools to carry out immigration checks and to propose changes to the prioritisation of illegal migrants in the school admissions process before the introduction of the Immigration Bill 2015-16.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Government did not have any discussions with the Scottish Government about requiring schools to carry out immigration checks or changes to the prioritisation of illegal migrants in the school admissions process before the introduction of the Immigration Bill 2015-16. It is not the policy of this Government to require schools to carry out immigration checks or de-prioritise the children of illegal migrants in the admissions process.

Motorcycles

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will review the powers available to the police to tackle anti-social use of off-road bikes and mopeds.

Brandon Lewis: The police already have the power under section 59 of the Police Reform Act 2002 to seize vehicles, including off-road bikes and mopeds. This can be as a result of using a vehicle in a careless and inconsiderate manner, contrary to the Road Traffic Act 1988, and in a manner causing alarm, distress or annoyance to members of the public.This enables the police to put an immediate stop to this dangerous and anti-social behaviour. How this power is used is an operational matter for the police.

Knives: Greater London

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to reduce knife crime in London.

Brandon Lewis: Tackling knife crime is a priority for the Government and we are taking firm action including warning young people about the dangers of carrying knives, and working with retailers to ensure there are effective controls on knife sales in the high street and online, and legislating to ban the sale and importation of zombie knives.21 police forces, including the Metropolitan Police Service, also recently took part in a week of action against knife crime, which involved targeting habitual knife carriers, weapon sweeps, the use of surrender bins, and test purchases from identified retailers.

EU Nationals

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to protect the status of EU nationals living in the UK when the UK leaves the EU.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Prime Minister has been clear that she wants to protect the status of EU nationals already living in the UK, and the only circumstances in which that wouldn’t be possible is if British citizens’ rights in other EU Member States were not protected in return.

Refugees: Syria

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what preparations her Department is making for the coordination of efforts with EU member states to support Syrian refugees after the UK leaves the EU.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The UK’s position on granting protection to those who need it will not change as a result of the referendum – we will continue to apply the Refugee Convention and provide protection for all those in need. The Government remains firmly committed to leading the way in working with the international community to tackle the global migration challenges. International engagement on migration – including cooperation with EU partners – will remain in our interest once we leave the EU.We will provide sanctuary to those who need it but will continue to intervene at every point in the migrant journey to address the root causes of the global migration challenge. The Government has committed to resettling 20,000 Syrian refugees through our Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement scheme over the course of this Parliament — that will not change as a result of the referendum and we are on track to deliver. A total of 4,414 people have been granted humanitarian protection under the scheme since it began. In addition to the scheme, the UK has pledged £2.3 billion in humanitarian aid to Syria and neighbouring countries.

Refugees: Syria

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to meet the Northern Ireland Executive to discuss coordination and cooperation on accepting more refugees from Syria.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Home Office Ministers have regular meetings with Ministerial colleagues and others as part of the process of policy development and delivery.

Vetting

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police forces have failed to meet their target for processing Disclosure and Barring Service checks in the last 12 months.

Sarah Newton: The Disclosure and Barring Service regularly publishes data on police force performance, which can be located through the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/572407/police_performance_Sept_16_xls.xls The Disclosure and Barring Service work closely with any force that fails to meet its targets to reduce turnaround times as quickly as possible, offering support where necessary.

Torture

Tommy Sheppard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will issue a response to the report by Freedom from Torture, Proving Torture, published in November 2016; and if she will take steps to roll out training developed by her Department to decision-makers.

Mr Robert Goodwill: We consider all asylum claims in a sensitive manner on an individual, objective and impartial basis ensuring that all cases are managed effectively throughout the asylum process to avoid unnecessary delay.The policy guidance sets out how to properly consider, and afford appropriate weight to, medico-legal evidence as part of a claim for protection. It states explicitly that it is not the role of decision makers to dispute clinical findings in the medico-legal reports or make clinical judgments of their own about medical evidence or medical matters generally and all decision makers are trained in the application of this policy. Officials will review the cases that are referred to in the report and will continue to work closely with Freedom from Torture and others to review and develop further our policy and training.All members of staff who make decisions in asylum receive the same level of training. This includes training on international and domestic law and safeguarding issues supplemented by a mentoring programme with an experienced caseworker that can last up to 6 months. Within the training there are specific sections that detail torture and Medico Legal Reports and how they should be used and analysed in asylum claims.Asylum Operations recently received funding from the Asylum Migration and Integration Fund to review and redevelop its training prospectus. As part of that work, Asylum Operations is liaising with a range of external stakeholders -including migrant charities and non-governmental organisations - to ensure a robust and effective safeguarding training product.

Asylum: Hostels

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 12 December 2016 to Question 56678, on asylum: hostels, in which Parliamentary constituencies the initial accommodation centres are located.

Mr Robert Goodwill: There are currently seven permanent Initial Accommodation centres located across the United Kingdom in the cities of Liverpool, Cardiff, Birmingham, London, Wakefield and Glasgow. However, we cannot comment on the individual locations of the centres for the safety of the asylum seekers housed there.

Emergency Services: Na h-Eileanan an Iar

Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many emergency service network masts will be built in  Na h-Eileanan an Iar constituency.

Brandon Lewis: In delivering the Emergency Services Network (ESN), the mobile network operator EE will deliver up to 291 new mast sites. Government will deliver approximately 230 further sites (known as the “Extended Area Services” (EAS) sites) in the most remote and rural areas of Great Britain.Under the terms of the State Aid decision for ESN, any ESN site where EE offers a commercial service must be made available to the other UK mobile operators and interested parties to provide their own a service on an equal and non-discriminatory basis.There are no potential EAS sites being considered in the constituency of Na h-Eileanan an Iar. There are currently up to 25 proposed new EE sites in the constituency. Delivery of these sites is subject to planning permission and the acquisition of land.

Detention Centres

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the length of the lease is that has been proposed with the agents responsible for the construction of a new short-term holding facility for immigrants that will be sited near Glasgow Airport.

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the proposals for a new short-term holding facility in Renfrewshire for which the original planning application was rejected by Renfrewshire Council's planning committee on 8 November 2016, whether a planning appeal against that decision has been submitted; and what the Government's plans are for that proposed facility.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Following Renfrewshire Council’s refusal of planning permission for a short term holding facility near Glasgow airport the Government is considering its position in relation to the right of appeal. Subject to completion and acceptance of the facility by the Home Office, the lease will be for a period of 25 years.

Refugees: Syria

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether unaccompanied minors under the Syrian UNHCR Resettlement Programme are subject to the same procedures and protocols which her Department has in place for unaccompanied refugee minors from other countries where there is conflict.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement (VPR) scheme is based on need and it prioritises those who cannot be supported effectively in their region of origin. We work closely with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to identify vulnerable Syrians that they deem in need of resettlement and whose particular needs can only be met in countries like the UK.UNHCR identifies refugees for resettlement under the Syrian VPR scheme using their established vulnerability criteria. We do not resettle unaccompanied minors under the Syrian VPR scheme.

Deportation

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been deported after applying for indefinite leave to remain who had previously been granted discretionary leave to remain in the UK as unaccompanied minors since 2010.

Mr Robert Goodwill: I am sorry but the Home Office does not hold the specific information in the format requested. To obtain it would involve interrogating individual case records, at disproportionate cost.

Immigration: Overseas Students

Mrs Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations she has received on changing her policy on the number of international students admitted annually to study in the UK; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Robert Goodwill: There is no limit to the number of genuine international students who can come to study in the United Kingdom. The Government has no plans to change this.

Nurses: Migrant Workers

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the potential effect on immigration numbers of the demand for non-UK nurses in each of the next five years.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Employers wishing to sponsor non-EEA nurses must do so under the Tier 2 (General) category, which is subject to an annual limit of 20,700 places. Those occupations such as nurses that are currently on the Shortage Occupation List are prioritised within the limit.

Scotland Office

Scotland Office: Pay

Jake Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what the percentage gap in earnings is between the pay of full-time staff in the highest pay grade in his Department and average full-time pay in that Department.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office does not employ staff directly. Matters relating to the terms and conditions of service of staff, including pay and gender pay gap analysis, are matters for the employing bodies.

Scotland Office: Pay

Jake Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what the percentage gap in earnings is between the highest-paid and lowest-paid full-time employee in his Department.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office does not employ staff directly. Matters relating to the terms and conditions of service of staff, including pay and gender pay gap analysis, are matters for the employing bodies.

Abortion: Scotland

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what information the Government holds on the number of abortions performed in 2015 in Scotland on Ground E (disability) of the Abortion Act 1967; how many such abortions were performed beyond 13 weeks' gestation; and what the total number of abortions performed in that year was (a) before and (b) after 13 weeks' gestation.

David Mundell: Abortion law was devolved under the Scotland Act 2016. The number of abortions performed in 2015 in Scotland on Ground E (disability) of the Abortion Act 1967 was 186. The total number of abortions performed in Scotland in 2015 was 12,082. The number of these abortions that were performed beyond 13 weeks’ gestation; and the total number of abortions performed in that year (a) before and (b) after 13 weeks gestation are not available. The published data on abortions provides information on the number of Ground E abortions by diagnosis. Estimated gestation is presented for all abortions and is grouped into under 10 weeks, 10 to 13, 14 to 17, 18 to 19 and 20 weeks and over. The data are available in Table 1 on the Information Services Division (ISD) website from the following link: https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Sexual-Health/Publications/2016-05-31/mat_aas_table1.xlsx.

HM Treasury

Tobacco: Smuggling

Martyn Day: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what processes are required before the UK ratifies the World Health Organisation Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products.

Martyn Day: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent representations the Government has received on the ratification of the World Health Organisation Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products.

Martyn Day: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions the Government has had with the tobacco industry on the ratification of the World Health Organisation Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products.

Jane Ellison: The Government fully supports ratification and implementation of the Illicit Trade Protocol, and the UK played a leading role in negotiating and agreeing the text. It is UK policy to have all necessary implementing legislation in place before ratifying any international agreement. While many of the requirements of the Protocol are already in place in the UK, the requirement for licensing of tobacco manufacturing machinery is still outstanding. The Government published draft legislation to implement this provision on 5 December 2016 as part of the draft Finance Bill 2017. Subject to Parliamentary approval, the text of the Protocol can be laid before Parliament as a Command Paper with an Explanatory Memorandum. Providing Parliament does not resolve against ratification then the UK can begin the formal ratification process. HM Revenue and Customs has received a number of representations from MPs, MEPs and health lobbyist supporting early implementation and ratification of the Protocol. No discussions have been held with the tobacco industry on ratification, beyond those conducted as part of the recent consultation on implementation of licensing of tobacco manufacturing machinery.

Treasury: Staff

Helen Whately: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what measures his Department has in place to support those of its staff who have mental health problems.

Simon Kirby: HM Treasury takes mental health seriously and has a variety of measures in place to support those of its staff who have mental health problems. Some of the main measures HM Treasury has in place are:the Time to Change Pledge signed in February 2014 to help reduce the stigma associated with poor mental healtha Mental Wellbeing Network with approximately 50 members who carry out activities and offer support to those who have poor mental health.personnel trained in Mental Health First Aid.mandatory stress related eLearning.guidance for staff and managers on how to identify and manage poor mental health.regular Mental Wellbeing Workshops that any member of staff can attend.events where staff talk about their own mental health experiences and what works for them to get through difficult timesWellness Actions Plans and stress risk assessments.reasonable adjustments for those with poor mental and/or physical health.a wellbeing toolkit that takes you through a number of activities that you can use to manage your wellbeing, as well as setting out the evidence for them.a confidential Employee Assistance Programme whose 24/7 Helpline is available to all staff offering advice and counselling at no cost to the individual. We also have a Health, Safety and Wellbeing team including an Occupational Health Adviser and HR Advisers that are able to offer help, support and advice to those who have mental health problems.

Treasury: Pay

Jake Berry: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the percentage gap in earnings is between the highest-paid and lowest-paid full-time employee in his Department.

Jake Berry: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the percentage gap in earnings is between the pay of full-time staff in the highest pay grade in his Department and average full-time pay in that Department.

Simon Kirby: The Treasury does not publish the percentage pay gap in earnings. However, information about current HM Treasury pay multiples is on page 67 in the Annual Report and Accounts 2015-2016 which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/533615/annual_report_and_accounts_2016_-_web.pdf

Fossil Fuels

Callum McCaig: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he had with representatives of the oil and gas industry before the Autumn Statement 2016.

Mr David Gauke: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel

Cash Dispensing

Mr David Hanson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what records his Department holds on how many (a) free to use ATM machines and (b) charging ATM machines there have been in each local authority area in England and Wales in each year since 2010.

Simon Kirby: The Treasury does not hold any information on the number of free to use or charging ATMs broken down by local authority. The Treasury does hold aggregate figures for the UK, published by the LINK payment system. The number of ATMs in the UK is at an all-time high of nearly 70,000 machines, having risen from 36,000 in 2001. The number of free-to-use ATMs is also at an all-time high of over 53,000 and over 98% of all ATM cash withdrawals by UK cardholders in the UK are made free of charge. LINK, the network which connects the UK’s ATM machines, runs a financial inclusion programme which subsidises some independent ATM providers to allow them to offer a free cash withdrawal service in those areas of greatest need. LINK has identified 1,694 rural and/or deprived ‘target’ areas, and 87% of these areas are now served by 916 subsidised cashpoints, up from up from 171 in 2007.

Sovereign Wealth Funds

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will respond to the recommendations made in the Social Market Foundation's report on the potential benefits of creating a Sovereign Wealth Fund, published on 7 November 2016.

Simon Kirby: The recommendations made in the Social Market Foundation’s report published on 7 November 2016 were addressed during a Westminster Hall debate on Sovereign Wealth Funds in the House of Commons on 14 December 2016. The government’s priority is to reduce the deficit and reduce the UK’s debt as a share of national income. Therefore, the government does not currently intend to give detailed consideration to a Sovereign Wealth Fund.

Taxation: Self-assessment

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to encourage the maximum number of people to meet the 31 January 2017 deadline for making a tax return.

Jane Ellison: I refer the Honourable Member to the answer given on 24th October (Written Question 43921).

EU Grants and Loans

Jonathan Edwards: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which UK-based projects were in receipt of European Investment Bank funding for each of the last five years; and how much funding each such project received in each of those years.

Mr David Gauke: This information can be found on the EIB website, where the Bank publishes details of all their projects, including financing amounts. The UK project details, including for the last 5 years, can be found in the link below. http://www.eib.org/projects/loan/list/?region=1&country=GB

EU Grants and Loans: Wales

Jonathan Edwards: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of the 2014 to 2020 Structural Funds and Rural Development Fund allocation for Wales was (a) committed before the Autumn Statement 2016 and (b) will be subject to the Government's guarantee for EU funding.

Mr David Gauke: The UK Government will guarantee funding for structural and investment projects in Wales which are signed before we leave the EU. It will be for the Welsh Government to make an assessment of which projects should be pursued in areas of its competence within its MFF allocations in this period, and this guarantee will apply to any such projects. The quantum of funding which will ultimately be covered under the terms of the guarantee will be subject to a number of factors, including the timing of exiting the EU, the outcome of the negotiations, progress on project implementation and the outcome of bids made directly to the Commission.

PAYE

Stephen Timms: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many employer PAYE schemes did not balance at the end of (a) 2013-14, (b) 2014-15 and (c) 2015-16.

Jane Ellison: HM Revenue and Customs does not keep this data.

National Insurance

Stephen Timms: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 6 December 2016 to Question 55900, what checks HM Revenue and Customs carries out routinely on taxpayers' national insurance accounts; and how frequently such checks are made.

Jane Ellison: HM Revenue and Custom's (HMRC) systems perform a number of automatic validation checks whenever data is recorded on an individual's record; this can happen at any time throughout the year and is not restricted to specific dates or cycles. This can involve, for example, checking that National Insurance contributions (NICs) and earnings are in keeping with an employee's liability for NICs such as in relation to their date of birth. Checks are also made to ensure the annual maximum for NICs is not exceeded. If the NICs totals supplied to HMRC fail the validation checks underpayments and overpayments of NICs can be investigated and corrected.

Taxation: Self-assessment

Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) delaying implementation of mandatory digital tax reporting until superfast broadband infrastructure is available in all parts of the UK and (b) exempting those people living in areas not included in the superfast broadband roll-out programme from the requirement to make a digital return.

Jane Ellison: The Making Tax Digital consultations closed on 7 November. The Government is currently considering the responses received and, as announced at the Autumn Statement, will publish its response in January. The Government has already announced that those businesses who are digitally excluded will be exempt from the digital record keeping and update requirements of Making Tax Digital. The consultations sought feedback on the appropriate criteria for this exemption. The Government further announced, at the Autumn Statement, £1 billion of new funding to boost UK's digital infrastructure. This includes further rollout of fibre broadband networks, enabling faster connections for businesses, helping build a better more productive economy for all.

National Productivity Investment Fund

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 12 December 2016 to Question 56178, on the National Productivity Investment Fund, what test will be used to define projects as critical to boosting productivity.

Mr David Gauke: The National Productivity Investment Fund will be targeted at areas that are critical for productivity: housing; research and development (R&D); and economic infrastructure. Paragraphs 3.9 of the Autumn Statement document sets out the priority areas for this new investment, using value for money assessments, following HM Treasury standards. Where relevant, expert sector bodies such as Highways England, the Homes and Communities Agency, and UK research and Innovation (UKRI) will make this assessment.

Companies: Tax Allowances

Frank Field: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many companies have received tax relief on surplus food products donated to charity; and what value of revenue to the Exchequer has been foregone for that purpose.

Jane Ellison: There is no specific tax relief for these purposes, therefore HM Revenue and Customs does not record the information requested. However, if a company donates its trading stock to a charity, it does not have to include the value of the gift in its sales income.

Debt Collection

Catherine West: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what systems his Department has for monitoring and regulating debt recovery companies.

Simon Kirby: The government has fundamentally reformed regulation of the consumer credit and debt management market. Responsibility for regulation was transferred from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in April 2014. The FCA has turned key elements of the OFT’s Irresponsible Lending Guidance into binding rules, actionable with the full range of FCA enforcement powers. These rules strengthen consumer protection and provide greater clarity to firms on what is expected of them and the sanctions if they lend irresponsibly. Firms are also required to comply with the FCA’s high-level principles, including ‘treating customers fairly’. Lenders must also show forbearance if there is evidence of financial difficulty. The FCA’s detailed rules can be found online at https://www.handbook.fca.org.uk/handbook/CONC.pdf. The FCA proactively monitors the market, and can use its broad enforcement powers where it finds wrongdoing - there is no limit on the fines it can levy and it can force firms to provide redress to consumers. The FCA can also use its flexible rule-making powers where it deems it necessary it to protect consumers. The government firmly believes that the new FCA regime is helping to deliver a higher standard of consumer protection in the debt management market.

Cabinet Office

Civil Servants: Public Appointments

Paula Sherriff: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which members of the Civil Service (a) Board and (b) Corporate Management Board were appointed after 12 July 2016.

Ben Gummer: There has been one new appointment to the Civil Service Board since 12 July 2016. Tom Scholar joined the Board at the end of July after taking up his position as Permanent Secretary of HM Treasury. The full list of current Board members is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/civil-service/about/our-governance

Infrastructure and Projects Authority

Jim McMahon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to (a) establish and (b) announce the appointment of members to the Infrastructure and Projects Authority Board.

Ben Gummer: The Infrastructure and Projects Authority reports jointly to the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury. The membership of the boards of these organisations is published on GOV.UK. There is no separate Infrastructure and Projects Authority Board and there are no current plans to establish one.

Department for International Trade

Moldova: Overseas Trade

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps his Department is taking to help improve trade with Moldova.

Greg Hands: Her Majesty’s Ambassador, and her staff, responds positively to British businesses seeking meetings to discuss the market and potential business opportunities.The total value of UK exports to Moldova in 2015 was £109m.

Ukraine: Overseas Trade

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps his Department is taking to help improve trade with Ukraine.

Greg Hands: The Department for International Trade (DIT) helps British companies enter the Ukrainian market and increase their competitiveness through overseas trade. We also offer professional and personalised assistance to help companies in Ukraine locate and expand in the UK. So far this year DIT has helped British companies deliver more than £40m of export wins in Ukraine. At the same time we ensure that UK companies are aware of the specific business risks which they might encounter when operating in Ukraine. More details are on our website https://www.gov.uk/government/world/organisations/uk-trade-investment-ukraine and https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/overseas-business-risk-ukraine.

Business: Wales

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what representations he has made on behalf of businesses in Wales in discussions with foreign (a) businesses and (b) trade ministers.

Greg Hands: The Department for International Trade supports businesses across the whole of the UK and we are developing a trade policy to reflect this in preparation for our exit from the European Union. Welsh businesses accompanied my Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade during his recent visit to India in November 2016 as part of the business delegation. Within the last few weeks, both my noble Friend the Minister of State for Trade Policy (Lord Price) and the Secretary of State met with businesses based in Wales in order to hear about opportunities and concerns, and will continue to hold such meetings.

Department for International Trade: Domestic Visits

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many meetings he has had with (a) Ministers in the Welsh Government, (b) businesses in Wales and (c) Ministers in the Wales Office since his appointment.

Greg Hands: Wales plays an important role as part of the UK’s strategy for boosting exports and inward investment and DIT has good relationships with the Welsh Government. My Rt Hon friend the Secretary of State met with a range of businesses during his recent visit to Wales and has regular discussions with cabinet colleagues and the Wales Office regarding trade and investment. The Prime Minister led her first business delegation to India in November, and the Secretary of State and I were able to engage with Welsh businesses that joined the visit.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Regeneration: Lancaster

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps Lancaster City Council has taken to apply for regeneration funding for Heysham South as part of its Lancaster Core Strategy.

Andrew Percy: My department is not aware of any specific regeneration funding applications from Lancaster City Council.

Council Tax

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to allow local councils to further increase council tax rates.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Government announced its proposals for council tax referendum principles and the Adult Social Care precept on 15 December 2016 as part of the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement, which is available at:www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/577947/Provisional_2017-2018_local_government_finance_settlement_consultation.pdf

Non-domestic Rates

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if his Department will make an assessment of the effect of the increase in rateable values of premises that do not fall under the £12,000 threshold on (a) riding schools and (b) other businesses.

Mr Marcus Jones: The business rates revaluation is undertaken independently of Ministers by the Valuation Office Agency. Information on changes in rateable values at the revaluation has been published by the Valuation Office Agency. We have put in place a £3.6 billion transitional relief scheme for England to ensure that no ratepayer is unfairly penalised by the 2017 revaluation.

Non-domestic Rates

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2016 to Question 49076, how much the Government has paid to each local authority in England to subsidise business rates discounts for childcare providers.

Mr Marcus Jones: Under the business rates retention system, where a local authority uses its discretionary powers to grant business rates discounts the resulting loss of business rates income is effectively shared equally between the local authority and the Government. The Government does not collect data on particular types of premises that have benefited from local discretionary relief.

Wales Office

Wales Office: Equal Pay

Jake Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what plans his Department has to publish information on the gender pay gap among its employees.

Guto Bebb: Wales Office staff are generally employed on Ministry of Justice terms and conditions in respect of pay. The Ministry of Justice collect gender pay gap data and plans to publish information on the gender pay gap amongst its employees in line with legislation.

Wales Office: Staff

Jake Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what plans his Department has to include worker representation on its departmental board.

Guto Bebb: I refer the hon Member to the oral statement on the Corporate Governance Green Paper of 29 November 2016, Official Report, Column 1408.

Wales Office: Pay

Jake Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what the percentage gap in earnings is between the pay of full-time staff in the highest pay grade in his Department and average full-time pay in that Department.

Guto Bebb: The Office for National Statistics publish the salary ratio of highest to median earners for each Civil Service organization. These ratios are published annually as part of Civil Service Statistics and can be found on the Office for National Statistics website: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/bulletins/civilservicestatistics/2016

Wales Office: Pay

Jake Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what the percentage gap in earnings is between the highest-paid and lowest-paid full-time employee in his Department.

Guto Bebb: Government Departments do not publish details of the salary of their highest to lowest paid employees. The Office for National Statistics do, however, publish the salary ratio of highest to median earners for each Civil Service organization. These ratios are published annually as part of Civil Service Statistics and can be found on the Office for National Statistics website: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/bulletins/civilservicestatistics/2016

Department of Health

Department of Health: Travel

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department spent on travel that was not standard class in each of the last five years.

David Mowat: The Department revised its internal travel policy during 2011 in line with the published Cabinet Office Business Travel Policy Principles as indicators of good practice that has contributed to a significant reduction in both rail by 88% and air travel costs by 84%. Furthermore comparing 2015 expenditure to a 2009 baseline under the previous administration illustrates reductions of 99% and 95% respectively. Spend by the Department on all non-standard class air and rail travel for the last five calendar years 2011 to 2015 is reported in the tables below: Table 1- Non-standard train travel: YearTotal2011£264,4902012£95,7272013£58,0672014£44,8622015£31,539 Table 2 – Non-standard air travel: YearTotal2011£161,1982012£98,7522013£38,0502014£22,4502015£25,878 The Department books the following class of flights; economy, premium economy, and business class. Economy class is always the default booking and an approved business case is required to book business class. If a flight is upgraded free of charge to business class, a business case is not required, although the management information will record a business class flight was taken.

Heartlands Hospital

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made on recruitment for a new paediatric neuromuscular consultant post at Birmingham Heartlands Hospital.

David Mowat: The information requested is not available centrally. It may be obtained from Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust. We have written to the Rt. Hon. Jacqui Smith, Chair of the Trust, informing her of the hon. Member’s enquiry. She will reply shortly and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.

Hospitals: Food

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent meetings he, Ministerial colleagues and officials of his Department have had with (a) Public Health England, (b) NHS England and (c) the Behavioural Insights Team to discuss behavioural change interventions on food in hospitals.

Mr Philip Dunne: There have been no recent Ministerial meetings with Public Health England, NHS England or the Behavioural Insights Team to discuss behavioural change interventions on hospital food in hospitals. Department officials chair an informal monthly working group focusing on food and drink sold on National Health Service sites. The working group includes representation from across the Department (policy and behavioural insights teams), Public Health England and NHS England and the remit includes discussions relating behavioural change interventions on food and drink sold in hospitals.

Health Services: Directors

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answers of 20 October 2016 to Questions 48406, 48407, 48408 and 48409, how many requirement notices have been issued by the Care Quality Commission after identifying breaches of Regulation 5 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has advised that its responsibility in relation ‘Regulation 5, fit and proper persons, directors’ is not to assess the fitness of directors but to check whether providers have the right systems and processes in place to assure themselves of fitness. The CQC can take action against providers if they believe a provider is not robustly assured of whether an unfit person holds a directorship position. As of 11 November 2016, across all sectors regulated by the CQC, there have been 91 Management Reviews of possible Regulation 5 breaches undertaken (a management review is the process by which the CQC assesses issues of potential concern). Of these reviews 25% resulted in enforcement activity with a total of 36 individual enforcement actions undertaken. The table below shows types of enforcement activity undertaken by the CQC under Regulation 5 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. Type of Action Civil Action (e.g. refusing or cancelling registration)30Criminal Action (fixed penalty notice)3Warning Notice (S29A)3Total36

Health Professions: Training

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) trainee doctors and (b) nurses are from (i) Wansbeck constituency, (ii) the North East and (iii) the UK.

Mr Philip Dunne: NHS Digital publishes data on the nationality of staff working in the National Health Service in England. This is a self-reported field within the NHS human resources and payroll system, the electronic staff record. The data is available as a United Kingdom total only. The latest nationality data available as at August 2016 showed that the number of trainee doctors and nurses who have self-declared their nationality as from within the UK (British, English, Northern Irish, Scottish and Welsh) is 38,456 (71.5%) and 245,323 (77.8%) respectively. This data is published twice a year; the next set will be published on 20 December 2016 showing the position at September 2016.

General Practitioners: Mental Health Services

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings of Mind in its report, Better equipped, better care, published in November 2016, that 46 per cent of speciality trainee GPs in England and Wales gained practical experience of mental health services in 2015.

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to include a rotation in a mental health setting for all speciality trainee GPs in the Health Education England Workforce Plan for England.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Royal College of General Practitioners’ (GP) recommendation on how to learn this area of practice is by work placed learning in primary care where all trainees now have a minimum of 18 months experience. This is in addition to team work learning such as the toolkit specifically designed for primary care teams to evaluate the extent to which they and their practices promote mental health. Many GP training programmes contain placements of varying length in psychiatry units. These will give exposure to patients with mental health problems but it is important that as a GP specialty trainee they also gain a broader understanding of mental health than can be obtained in the psychiatry ward or clinics. Health Education England ensures that GP training is supplemented by courses in mental health and e-learning modules including innovative learning opportunities with other health professionals, including psychiatry trainees, with an emphasis on the importance of the team work required across health, social care and the third sector.

Junior Doctors: Maternity Leave

John Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many junior doctors took maternity leave in each year of the last five years.

Mr Philip Dunne: This information is not collected.

Members: Correspondence

Paula Sherriff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to reply to the letter of 18 November 2016 from the hon. Member for Dewsbury on acute hospital services in the Kirklees area.

Mr Philip Dunne: I responded to the hon. Member on 15 December.

Baby Care Units

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of NHS Trusts have more than one bed available for overnight stays for people with babies in neonatal units.

Mr Philip Dunne: NHS England does not hold information centrally on the number of beds available for parents to stay with their baby. Neonatal Critical Care Operational Delivery Networks manage neonatal units locally.However, following a recent report by the charity BLISS which addressed the issue of beds for parents, NHS England is currently reviewing Neonatal Critical Care Units including availability of beds for parents in these units. The review is expected to report by the end of 2017.

Neuromuscular Disorders: Ambulance Services

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with National Ambulance Service Medical Directors on ensuring that the best practice system of flagging people with muscle-wasting conditions to ambulance crews in London North West and North East ambulance services is utilised across all ambulance services.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Department has not had any recent discussions with National Ambulance Service Medical Directors on this subject. NHS England has advised that it is working with all ambulance services in England to ensure the right resource is allocated to the right 999 call at the right time. Currently the flagging of patients with long term conditions or longer term care needs is not used universally. However the development of technology to allow real-time searching of the National Health Service number as a unique patient identifier will significantly increase the value of placing ‘flags’ on patients with specific clinical needs. This will then reliably allow any attending healthcare professional to access care plans and special patient notes to help inform individual patient management. This is a component of the 2017/19 ambulance service national Commissioning Quality and Innovation framework.

Heart Diseases: Greater London

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much public consultation on the proposed re-configuration of congenital heart disease services in London will cost.

Mr Philip Dunne: A service change process is underway on NHS England’s proposals for changing the organisation of congenital heart disease services in England. As part of that, it is currently developing its plans for a national public consultation and so does not have a breakdown of proposed expenditure by region.

Depressive Illnesses: Domestic Violence

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the potential link between depression and the perpetration of acts of domestic violence.

Nicola Blackwood: The Department has not made an assessment of the potential link between depression and the perpetration of acts of domestic violence. However, the Home Office, which leads for the Government on domestic violence, published an analysis of domestic homicide reviews in November 2016 which included analysis on the link between mental ill health and domestic violence.

Medicine: Education

Dr Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that students of private medical schools receiving training in NHS settings do not pay less than the cost of providing that training.

Mr Philip Dunne: The arrangements for students of private medical schools to receive training in National Health Service settings are a matter for agreement between the medical school and the NHS organisation. Funding for placements commissioned by Health Education England and its local offices should not be used to subsidise any element of the cost of placements for non-NHS funded students or trainees.

Physician Associates: Training

Dr Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will publish the funding provided through Health Education England for the training in NHS providers of Physician Associate students for each programme supported per student (a) per year and (b) over the course of the training.

Mr Philip Dunne: The total funding provided by Health Education England for the training of Physician Associate students for each programme supported is: - £15,655 per student per year; and- £31,310 per student over the duration of the two year course. The cost per student consists of tuition, maintenance and clinical placement funding as outlined in the table below.  Clinical PlacementTuitionMaintenanceCost per student£2,156£7,310£6,189

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to help ensure that appointment waiting times at child and adolescent mental health services in England are being reduced.

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department holds on regional appointment waiting times for child and adolescent mental health services in England.

Nicola Blackwood: The Department does not currently collect information on waiting times for all child and adolescent mental health services. However, we have introduced the first ever access and waiting time standards for mental health. Standards on waiting times for early intervention in psychosis are already in place and encompass children and young people aged 14 or over. Standards for eating disorders services, targeted at children and young people, were published in August 2015 and will come into effect on 1 April 2017. In addition, NHS Digital has begun publishing experimental data from the Data Set setting out the waiting times of children and young people between referral and second contact. NHS England has also set aside a fund of £25 million to reduce waiting times backlogs and asked clinical commissioning groups to set out the steps they will make, using that fund, to reduce any waiting lists during 2016-17.

Derbyshire Mental Health Services NHS Trust: Disciplinary Proceedings

Pauline Latham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people have been suspended from the Derbyshire Mental Health Trust in the last two years; and for how long those suspensions were active.

Nicola Blackwood: The information requested is not available centrally. It may be obtained from Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. We have written to Richard Gregory, Chair of the Trust, informing him of the hon. Member’s enquiry. He will reply shortly and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.

Department of Health: Redundancy

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the estimated cost is of (a) voluntary and (b) compulsory staff redundancies in his Department in 2016-17.

David Mowat: The majority of staff leaving the Department in 2016-17 will be leaving on voluntary exit, the combined estimated cost of this, voluntary and compulsory redundancies is £30 million.

Department of Health: Reorganisation

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the estimated total cost is of restructuring his Department as announced in February 2016; and what the estimated cost is of the planned reduction in the number of employees of his Department in the (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18 financial years.

David Mowat: The current estimate costs for the planned reduction in staff is £30 million in 2016-17 and £0.5 million in 2017-18. In addition there is a team leading the DH2020 transformation project and costs related to additional pension quotes for staff exiting, these taken together are not expected to exceed £1 million per annum. The total cost is therefore not expected to exceed £33 million.

Obesity: Children

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what change has been recorded in rates of childhood obesity in each year from 2000 to 2015.

Nicola Blackwood: Childhood Obesity data is collected annually through the Health Survey for England (HSE) and the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP). HSE figures are published on the NHS Digital website: http://digital.nhs.uk/pubs/hse2015trend NCMP trend figures are published on the Public Health England website and can be accessed: https://www.noo.org.uk/securefiles/161219_0955//Trends%20Rep%201415%20260816_final_to%20GatewayNB101016%20%25282%2529%20%281%29.pdf The HSE data (which covers the period from 2000-14) shows that the obesity level has varied between 13.7 and 18.9% with variations annually but no discernible overall downward or upward trend.

Nurses

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how his Department plans to ensure that there is no shortfall of nursing staff by the end of 2019; and what discussions his Department has had with the Home Office on those plans.

Mr Philip Dunne: Health Education England (HEE) is responsible for the forecasting and planning of future workforce supply, working with National Health Service organisations to meet their needs and there are currently over 51,000 students undergoing nurse training within England. As part of their mandate requirements to ensure that the correct numbers of qualified nurses are trained to fill vacancies, HEE has already increased all nurse training places by nearly 15% over the last three years and are forecasting that more than 40,000 additional nurses could be available by 2020. Nursing continues to be identified as a priority area for investment within the 2016/17 Workforce Plan for England to ensure future supply shortages are avoided and over the last 12 months we have seen record numbers of nurses working in the NHS. In addition, from 1 August 2017, student nurse training will be funded through student loans enabling universities to increase training places significantly – offering up to 10,000 more nursing, midwifery and allied health training places over this Parliament. Nurses were placed on the Home Office’s Shortage Occupation List as an interim move and following a call for evidence and a further review of the United Kingdom nursing recruitment requirements by the independent Migration Advisory Committee, the Government accepted their recommendation that nursing remains on the Shortage Occupation List until July 2019, when a further review will take place.

Nurses: Training

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with his cabinet colleagues on the effect of abolishing nursing bursaries on domestic student numbers.

Mr Philip Dunne: To introduce health education funding reforms effective from 1 August 2017 for new pre-registration nursing, midwifery and allied health students, the Department sought, and received, the required cross-government Home Affairs Cabinet Committee approval to its public consultation and draft equality and economic impact assessments published on 8 April 2016. It received subsequent approval for its government response and refreshed impact assessments, published 21 July 2016. From 1 August 2017, student nurse training will be funded through student loans enabling universities to increase training places significantly – offering up to 10,000 more nursing, midwifery and allied health training places over this parliament, so more applicants will have the chance to become a health professional.

Action on Smoking and Health

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 1 November 2016 to Question 50265, what the job titles are of officials from his Department who have met representatives of Action on Smoking and Health to discuss the forthcoming tobacco control strategy; and what the items discussed and actions agreed at those meetings were.

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which organisations have made representations either verbally or in writing to his Department on the forthcoming tobacco control strategy; and if he will place a copy of each such written submission in the Library.

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 1 November 2016 to Question 50265, what meetings or other communication Ministers of his Department have had on how many occasions with Action on Smoking and Health since October 2016.

Nicola Blackwood: As part of the development of the tobacco control plan, stakeholders, including representatives of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), were invited to meetings to give views on the potential content of the new tobacco control plan. The responsible Deputy Director and a policy adviser within the tobacco policy team also attended. These meetings took place between January and April. No actions were agreed, rather stakeholders contributed ideas for the plan. Copies of the agendas of these stakeholder events and key suggestions which emerged are attached. During the development of the tobacco control plan, there have been a number of organisations who have made reference to the tobacco control plan in correspondence including a range of public health stakeholders, e-cigarette producers and the tobacco industry. To determine what information was provided by organisations as opposed to individuals could only be achieved at disproportionate cost to the Department. There have been no meetings or other communication between Ministers and ASH since October 2016.



PQ57596
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PQ57596-MH Agenda
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Smoking

Mr David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people have used NHS stop smoking services in each of the last 10 years.

Nicola Blackwood: Smoking prevalence is at the lowest level since records began. The number of people who have used local stop smoking services in England in the years 2005-06 to 2015-16 is set out in the table. However, many people successfully quit smoking without registering with cessation services. Number of people accessing local stop smoking services 2005-06 to 2015-16  Set a quit dateQuit successfully2005-06602,820329,6812006-07600,410319,7202007-08680,289350,8002008-09671,259337,0542009-10757,537373,9542010-11787,527383,5482011-12816,444400,9552012-13724,247373,8722013-14586,337300,5392014-15450,582229,6882015-16382,500195,170 Source: http://content.digital.nhs.uk/article/2021/WebsiteSearch?q=title%3a%22statistics+on+nhs+stop+smoking%22&sort=Most+recent&size=10&page=1&area=both

Mental Health Services

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 8 November 2016 to Question 51834, where NHS England's evaluations of community mental health services are available; to what extent those evaluations were considered in relation to the minimum level of expected spending set as a result of the Mental Health Investment Standard; and if he will undertake to increase that expected level of spending.

Nicola Blackwood: NHS England has not published separate evaluations of community mental health services. NHS England published the Five Year Forward View Mental Health Dashboard in October which sets out a series of indicators that will be used to determine key areas of performance and outcomes. These indicators will include monitoring National Health Service spending on adult and children and young people’s mental health. NHS England will also use the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) Improvement and Assessment Framework to assure CCGs plans for increasing their spending on mental health. The minimum level of expected mental health spending is a calculation based on the Mental Health Investment Standard definition, requiring that CCGs increase their annual spend on mental health in line with their individual annual programme allocation growth. This calculation does not take account of the operational performance and evaluation of specific mental health programme areas like community mental health. However, in deciding their planned spend, CCGs are required to take account of national operational and clinical targets as well as local needs based assessment for specific services.

NHS: Expenditure

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 8 November 2016 to Question 51771, what assessment he has made of the effect that the UK's current level of healthcare expenditure on long-term care, as set out in the report of the Office for National Statistics, How does UK healthcare spending compare internationally?, published on 1 November 2016, is having on the emergency healthcare services.

David Mowat: No specific assessment has been made of the effect that the current level United Kingdom healthcare expenditure which is spent on long-term care, as defined by the Office for National Statistics, is having on the emergency healthcare services. Health is a devolved matter, and issues of long term care spend and associated pressures and implications on emergency healthcare services in the devolved administrations should be addressed accordingly.

Social Services: Staff

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the number of care workers needed in each of the next five years.

David Mowat: The Department commissioned the Centre for Workforce Intelligence (CfWI) to undertake a longer-term review of the adult social care workforce in England, to 2035. The report was published by CfWI and is available at:http://www.cfwi.org.uk/publications/forecasting-the-adult-social-care-workforce-to-2035-workforce-intelligence-report/attachment.pdf

Social Services: Staff

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many care workers have been employed in (a) London and (b) England in each of the last five years.

David Mowat: The number of care workers employed in London and England in each of the last five years is not collected by the Department. Skills for Care, the partner in the sector skills council for social care, in England, collects data on the adult social care workforce. The number of care workers employed in England and London in each of the last five years is set out in the table below:  20112012201320142015England  Care workers700,000735,000775,000810,000800,000London  Care workers  160,000190,000195,000205,000205,000 Source: Skills for Care, Size and structure of the adult social care sector in England

Motor Neurone Disease

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent changes have been made to clinical guidance on the assessment and management of motor neurone disease.

David Mowat: On 24 February 2016, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published a new best practice guideline on the assessment and management of motor neurone disease (MND). The guideline sets out the signs and symptoms of the disease and makes a range of recommendations, including that robust protocols and pathways are in place to inform healthcare professionals about MND and how it may present and to inform healthcare professionals in all settings about local referral arrangements. The guideline can be found at the following link: www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng42/resources/motor-neurone-disease-assessment-and-management-1837449470149

Obesity

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to promote weight loss during National Obesity Awareness Week.

Nicola Blackwood: Current Government work programmes to tackle obesity and the obesogenic environment continue.

Obesity

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make an assessment of the potential contribution of businesses in the weight management sector to tackling obesity.

Nicola Blackwood: The Government recognises that commercial and non-commercial organisations which provide evidence based, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence compliant and effective weight management services for children, adults and families play a vital role in promoting health and sustained weight loss.

Dementia: Drugs

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department issues on the use of anti-psychotic medication for people with dementia; and if he will make a statement.

David Mowat: In November 2006, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published a clinical guideline on ‘Dementia: supporting people with dementia and their carers in health and social care’. It offers best practice advice on the care of people with dementia and on support for their carers including on the use of antipsychotics. The Department funded the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) to produce ‘Antipsychotic drugs in dementia: a best practice guide’ which was published in May 2012. This includes guidance on what practitioners need to consider in the prescribing of antipsychotic drugs to people with dementia. The Department commissioned the Dementia Core Skills Education and Training Framework which was published in October 2015. Developed in collaboration by Skills for Health, Health Education England and Skills for Care, the Framework is a comprehensive resource which sets out the essential skills and knowledge needed for all staff working with people with dementia in health and social care settings, including information on the use of antipsychotic medication. The Challenge on Dementia 2020 is clear there must be continuing action at a local level in England to ensure antipsychotic drugs are prescribed appropriately and that person centred responses are used in response to behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia, also referred to as behaviours that challenge.

Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 6 December 2016 to Question 55910, how many referrals to the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme ended, by first recorded therapy type, in each clinical commissioning group in 2015-16.

Nicola Blackwood: Information is not available in the format requested.

Blood: Contamination

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure the contaminated blood scheme's level of funding is maintained after the end of the current spending review period in 2021.

Nicola Blackwood: As under all previous administrations, spending plans for the Government are set out in the Spending Review at the time.

Blood: Contamination

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health in the House of Lords is taking to ensure coordination between the contaminated blood schemes in England and Scotland.

Nicola Blackwood: Ministers have discussed this matter with their Scottish counterparts and officials are working together to facilitate the increased payments this year. We want these payments to be made as quickly as possible to people infected in England and Scotland. The Department is working with its colleagues in the Devolved Administrations and the current scheme administrators to ensure that any country specific arrangements for this financial year and beyond can be effected smoothly.

Blood: Contamination

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will increase the level of financial support for people affected by contaminated blood in England to match the level of such support offered by the Scottish Government.

Nicola Blackwood: Health functions are devolved, which means that responsibility for the infected blood payment schemes is a matter for the devolved administrations. We have committed an additional £125 million to provide funding to the reformed scheme in England. The budget allocation will more than double the Department’s annual spend on the scheme over the next five years. This is significantly more than any previous government has been able to provide for those affected by the tragedy.

Homeopathy

David Tredinnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans to read the Homeopathic Revolution: why famous people and cultural heroes choose homeopathy, by Dan Ullman, as part of his official reading over the Christmas recess.

Nicola Blackwood: No.

Social Services: Finance

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of social care budget changes on the number of people attending accident and emergency departments.

David Mowat: There are several factors that influence attendances at accident and emergency (A&E) departments. We acknowledge that high performing and accessible social care is an essential part of ensuring good patient flow through the system. However attendances to A&E departments are an issue for the whole healthcare system, and whilst social care has a role we are committed also to delivering world class primary care, NHS111 services and alternative emergency care streaming to ensure that attendances to A&E departments are only for clinically appropriate patients. The funding of local services is a key priority for this Government, and we are giving councils access to further funding to manage social care pressures in their local area across the next few years:- Next year councils will be able to raise the precept by up to 3%, and 3% the year after (2018/19). This could raise £200 million in additional funding for adult social care in 2017/18 and over £400 million in 2018/19.- The Government is also providing an additional £240 million to fund adult social care through the Adult Social Care Support Grant, funded by reforms to the New Homes Bonus. These new changes provide access to an additional £450 million for social care next year, following calls from the sector that funding was most needed in 2017/18. Taken together with the funding announced in the autumn 2015 Spending Review, this means that local government will have access to the funding it needs to increase social care spending every year in this Parliament. The spending review gave councils the flexibility to introduce a 2% social care precept for adult social care, and access to additional funding for adult social care worth £1.5 billion by 2019/20 through the Better Care Fund, starting in April 2017.

Obesity

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department issues to GPs on patient referrals to businesses in the weight management sector.

Nicola Blackwood: Public Health England (PHE) recognise the important role of general practitioner (GP) led brief interventions to support individuals to access commercial and non-commercial weight management services. PHE promotes the use of Making Every Contact Count as an opportunity, for GPs and other health professionals, to educate and empower individuals to make positive choices about their own health.

Obesity

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department issues to the NHS on its promotion of businesses in the weight management sector for the purposes of tackling obesity.

Nicola Blackwood: The Government supports implementation of the weight management guidance produced by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, which is applicable to businesses. The National Health Service and local authorities typically use this when making decisions on services and to ensure that approaches are evidence-based, effective and sustainable.